-accio

Forms

-accio m (noun-forming suffix, plural -acci, feminine -accia, feminine plural -acce)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin -āceus, in the accusative ⟨-āceum⟩.^[2][3][4][1] In Latin the suffix formed adjectives from nouns, meaning “made of” or “like”, as in hederāceus (“of ivy”), vīnāceus (“of wine”) and gallīnāceus (“of poultry”).^[5][6] Wiktionary analyses it as -āx and -eus.^[1] Italian kept the original adjectival value only at first and then specialised the suffix as pejorative.^[2][7][6]

This form is the Tuscan outcome; the dialects of the north and the south have -azzo, and the learned form is -aceo.^[4][3][1] French borrowed the Italian suffix as French -ache, also -ace, in the 16th century.^[8]

Semantic evolution

DELI cites Rohlfs' and Tekavčić's historical grammars for the change from the adjectival to the pejorative value, and Prati's study of -accio as an “antisuffix”.^[2] Beside nouns such as ragazzaccio and adjectives such as pigraccio, the suffix also makes nouns for everyday objects with a set use, such as strofinaccio, legaccio and tavolaccio.^[2][7][9] In familiar speech accio has even been used on its own as an adjective meaning “bad”, as in De Amicis' un ragazzo accio ma accio bene.^[10]

Meanings

Suffix

1. Forms pejorative or contemptuous nouns and adjectives: libraccio, fattaccio, ragazzaccio, casaccia, avaraccio.^{[2][7][6][10][1]}
2. With a milder, sometimes affectionate value: poveraccio, omaccio, diavolaccio.^[7]
3. Forms nouns of objects or tools with a set use, often slightly pejorative: strofinaccio, legaccio, tavolaccio, brogliaccio.^[2][7][9]
4. Gives a noun the sense “done roughly, informally”: praticaccia.^[4]

Word family

• ragazzaccio
• fattaccio
• libraccio
• poveraccio
• omaccio
• robaccia
• strofinaccio
• legaccio
• tavolaccio
• brogliaccio

Related words

• -azzo
• -aceo
• Latin -aceus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
9. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
10. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)