-gione

Forms

-gione f (plural -gioni)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin -tiōnem, the accusative of the Latin suffix of verbal nouns, through an earlier *-cione.^[1][2] De Mauro adds that the form owes something to the northern dialects, and compares French -aison, -ison, Old Occitan -azon and -izon.^[2] It is thus a popular counterpart of the learned -zione, under which the Treccani dictionary treats it.^[3][1]

In Latin, the suffix formed nouns of the action of a verb (cantiō, ōrātiō).^[4] It probably continues Proto-Italic *-tiō, an n-stem extension of Proto-Indo-European *-tis.^[1]

Semantic evolution

The suffix is found in feminine nouns of French origin and in nouns formed on their model, mostly from verbs: cacciagione “game”, imbandigione, piantagione “plantation”.^[2][5][6] Nouns formed from nouns are rare: carnagione “complexion”, fienagione “haymaking”.^[2] In some words it alternates with -zione, and the two forms are variants of each other.^[2] It is no longer productive.^[1]

Meanings

Suffix

1. Forms feminine nouns, mostly from verbs, naming an action or its result: cacciagione, piantagione, imbandigione.^[5][6][2]
2. Forms a few nouns from nouns: carnagione, fienagione.^[2]

Word family

• cacciagione
• piantagione
• imbandigione
• carnagione
• fienagione

Related words

• -zione
• Latin -tiō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio, Il Nuovo De Mauro, online ed., dizionario.internazionale.it
3. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier