Cosa c’è nella nostra borsa? Conversazione in italiano

What does “marsupio” mean in Italian?

Italian has one word for two pouches: marsupio. In the zoo it is the kangaroo’s belly pouch where the joey grows; on a person it is the little zip-bag you strap round your waist — the fanny pack (US) or bum bag (UK). The image is identical: a pouch worn on the front of the body to carry your young, or your phone and keys. Once you see the marsupial, the bag never sounds strange again.

The word comes through Latin marsupium (“purse”) from Greek marsýpion, and the whole animal order Marsupialia is named for it. By extension marsupio also names the chest carrier for babies — fittingly close to the kangaroo’s original use.