Prosciutto

Take the Italian word prosciugato, which means dried up, cross it with its colloquial version, presciutto, and you have prosciutto, a salted and air-cured ham. Although its original, and still primary, meaning applies to the end result of the curing process, in common usage prosciutto now refers to ham, however it has been treated.

Prosciutto fresco. Raw ham bought whole or by the slice for cooking.

Prosciutto crudo. Literally it means raw ham, but it is not raw at all; it is the familiar cured ham one eats sliced—alone, with melon, or with ripe figs.