Prosciutto is the Italian word for ham. In English the word is almost always used for dry-cured ham which hasn't been cooked, in particular from central and northern Italy such as Prosciutto di Parma and Prosciutto di San Daniele. Terminology The word prosciutto derives from the Latin perexsuctum, which gave way to the modern Italian word prosciugare which means "thoroughly dried" (lit., "(having been) very sucked out"). In Italian, "prosciutto" refers to the pork cut, not to its specific prepar… (More on Prosciutto)