In the table of numerals below the Polari Glossary is cited as PG and Hancock's numerals as IH. Numerals are not listed in P. It may be noted that for the numerals 7, 8, 9 an alternative occurs by placing together 6-1, 6-2, 6-3. It is unclear why this system is used. I cite only the first spelling the sources offer, and it will be seen that there is wide agreement.
Occitan (Oc) plays an important part in the form of Lingua Franca embedded in Polari. For further information, see my brief discussion of Occitan.
It should be noted that while there seems to be no doubt that words came into Polari from Lingua Franca, they are in a much more corrupted form than those found in Shay Lamora’. In many cases it is not clear if Lingua Franca is actually the source, and so I must confess that my choice must be considered subjective. But etymology has never been an exact science.
| HB | P | PW | Derivation | Meaning | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acqua | It. | water | ||
| affaire | Oc. | affair | ||
| ajax | Perh. Fr. adjac[en]t | near | B | |
| bagadga | Oc. bagatge | baggage, male genitals | ||
| barkey | It. barcaiuòlo | sailor | ||
| batt | batt | batt | Oc. sabata | shoe |
| battery | It. battere | beat | ||
| benar | Prob. bene + English -er | better | ||
| bene | It. | well | ||
| bevvy | bevvy | It. bere, Sp. beber | drink | |
| bevvy omee | + Oc. òme, "man" | drunkard | ||
| beyonek | It. bianca? | shilling | ||
| bijou | bijou | bijou | Oc. pichon | small |
| bimbo | bimbo | It. | dupe | |
| bodega | Sp. | grocery store | ||
| bona | bona | bona | Oc. | good | C |
| camisa | It. | shirt | ||
| capela | It. cappèllo | hat | ||
| capello | capello | It. cappèllo | hat | |
| carnish | It. carnes | food | ||
| carsey | It., Sp. casa | house | ||
| catever | It. cattivo | bad | ||
| charper | charper | Oc. cercar | look for | |
| cull | Fr. couille | testicle | ||
| D | ||||
| dona | dona | It. donna | woman | |
| HB | P | PW | Derivation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | ||||
| fake | Oc. far, fach | do, make | ||
| feele | feele | feely | Oc. filh | child |
| feely ome | filiome | Oc. filh + òme | youth | |
| fogle | Oc. fuèlha, leaf | handkerchief | ||
| G | ||||
| gam | It. gamba Oc. camba | leg | ||
| gent | Oc. argent | money | ||
| J | ||||
| jarry | It. mangiare | eat | ||
| jogger | Oc. jogar | play, entertain | ||
| joggering omee | Oc. jogar + òme | street musician | ||
| M | ||||
| medzer | It. mezzo | halfpenny | ||
| multy | It. multi | many | ||
| N | ||||
| nada | Sp. | nothing | ||
| nanti | It. niente | nothing | ||
| nochy | Sp. noche | night | ||
| O | ||||
| omi | omi | omi | Oc. òme | man |
| P | ||||
| palare | polari | polari | It. parlare | speak |
| pogy | It. poco | (a) little | ||
| Q | ||||
| quartereen | It. quattrino | farthing | ||
| S | ||||
| salter | It. soldo "halfpenny" | penny | ||
| savvy | Sp. sabe | know | ||
| screeve | It.scrivere | write | ||
| V | ||||
| vada | va(r)da | varda | It. vedere | see |
| HB | PG | PW | IH | Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| una | una | una | una | 1 |
| duey | dewey | dewey | dooe | 2 |
| trey | tray | tray | tray | 3 |
| quater | quattro,quater | quattro | 4 | |
| chinker | chinker | chinker | chinker | 5 |
| sey | sayi | say | sa | 6 |
| setter | setter | setter | setter | 7 |
| otto | otter | otter | otter | 8 |
| nobber | nobba | nobber | nobber | 9 |
| dacha | daiture | daiture | dacha | 10 |