-iglia

Forms

-iglia f (noun-forming suffix, plural -iglie)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin -īlia, the neuter plural ending of -īlis, which Italian reinterpreted as a feminine singular.^[2][3][1][4] Because it was first the plural ending of neuter nouns and adjectives, the suffix keeps a collective value.^[5][6]

The Treccani vocabulary adds that the Italian adaptations of French -ille and Spanish -illa, which go back to -icula, merged with the inherited ending.^[6][7] The Latin adjective suffix continues Proto-Italic *-elis and Proto-Indo-European *-elis, probably from *-lós.^[1]

Semantic evolution

The suffix is found in only a small number of feminine nouns.^[4] Most of them are collective, and many are disparaging: fanghiglia is a mass of mud and poltiglia a mash.^[2][3][6] Others, such as squadriglia and stoviglia, show the merger with the French and Spanish diminutive endings.^[6]

Meanings

Suffix

1. Forms feminine nouns from nouns, with a collective and often pejorative sense: fanghiglia, poltiglia, graniglia, terziglia.^{[2][5][4][6][1]}

Word family

• fanghiglia
• poltiglia
• graniglia
• terziglia
• squadriglia
• stoviglia

Related words

• -ile
• Latin -ilis

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c De Mauro, Tullio, Il Nuovo De Mauro, online ed., dizionario.internazionale.it
5. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
7. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana