"Gravy" vs. Tomato Sauce

Our friend "D" weighed in on the burning question:  Why do Italians call tomato sauce "gravy" and wrote:

My two cents worth is from the Sopranos.  In the second season, Tony, Christopher and Paulie (he of the silver wings painted in his hair) head over to Naples.  At an evening dinner in a restaurant, Paulie asks the waiter to bring him some "gravy."  There is a communication problem - Paulie's Italian is very limited and the wait staff seems not to understand Jersey English.  The subtitles in English are very disparaging which leads me to believe the use of "gravy" in lieu of "sauce" is an American-Italian thing.  What with "gravy" being a big thing at the American dinner table in the 1800s and 1900s, and the Italian-Americans having their own cuisine, me thinks the Italians just accepted their sauce as gravy, either to fit in or to try to oneup the American dinner table."

Thank you for that scholarly explanation, "D."  It makes sense. 

Richie's cousin's late husband owned and chef'd at the excellent Maria's restaurant in Cap Coral, FL.  His widow writes, "My Gianni never called it gravy -- saucea only.  He was brought up in Naples, Italy.  My sisters-in-law never called it that.  They always added an "a" to sauceA, but I never did - I'm not Italian.  To me "gravy" always meant beef or chicken or turkey."

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