Genova

Forms

Genova f^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin Genua, the Latin name of the city.^[1][2] DELI notes that the origin of the name has been discussed since antiquity and holds it to be probably Ligurian.^[2]

Wiktionary connects it with an Ancient Ligurian word for “knee”, going back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵénw-eh₂ (“knee”), a derivative of *ǵónu taken in the sense “angle” from the position of the site, and compares Latin genu (“knee”).^[1] The Italian Wiktionary gives the same root, after Pokorny, and links it with the original shape of the harbour.^[3] Wiktionary also allows a derivation from Proto-Celtic *genu- (“mouth (of a river)”), which would make the name akin to that of Geneva.^[1] Etymonline gives a root meaning “curve, bend”, and mentions older theories that derive it from ianua (“door, gate”) or from the god Ianus.^[4] Tommaseo derived it from Celtic words for “mouth” and “water”.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first dated Italian record of the name's family is the adjective genovese, “of Genoa”, in Brunetto Latini's Rettorica (1260–1261).^[2] Old Italian texts spell the adjective in many ways, among them genoese, zenoese, çenovexi and genuese, the forms with ⟨z⟩ and ⟨ç⟩ coming from the north.^[6]

Semantic evolution

In some places una Genova meant a gold coin of Genoa, the doppia di Genova, also called genovina.^[5][7] Bellezze di Genova is a 19th-century popular name for the Jerusalem cherry, Solanum pseudocapsicum, a shrub with red berries, and pasta di Genova was a quince preserve.^[7][5] In the Italian spelling alphabet Genova stands for the letter G.^[1]

Spanish and Portuguese borrowed the name as Génova.^[1] In English the city is Genoa; the older adjective Genoway (about 1400) came through Old French Genoveis from Italian genovese, and Genoese is recorded from the 1550s.^[4]

Timeline

• 1260–1261 – Brunetto Latini uses the adjective genovese.^[2]
• About 1400 – Middle English Genoway “Genoese” is recorded.^[4]
• 1550s – English Genoese is recorded.^[4]
• 19th century – bellezze di Genova is recorded as a plant name.^[7]
• 1869 – genova is recorded as the name of a gold coin.^[8]
• 1974 – genova is recorded as the name of a sail.^[8][9]

Meanings

Proper noun

1. Genoa: the port city and comune that is the capital of the region of Liguria in Italy.^[8][1][3]
2. The metropolitan city of Genoa, the local authority set up around the city in 2015.^[1]
3. The letter G in the Italian spelling alphabet.^[1]

Word family

• genovese
• genovina

Related words

• Liguria
• Latin Genua

Usage notes

As a feminine common noun, genova is a gold coin worth 80 lire, struck at Genoa by the kings of Sardinia after the metric system was adopted (recorded 1869).^[8][10] As an invariable masculine noun (1974) it is a rare word for the genoa, a large headsail, from the English name.^[8][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
6. ^ Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
7. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1785
8. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca