acciuga

Forms

acciuga f (plural acciughe)^[1] Tuscan dialects have acciuca and, with the article fused, lacciuga.^[2] Genoese has anciôa.^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ligurian anciôa, the Genoese word, from Vulgar Latin *apiuva, from Latin aphyē (“small fish”), from Ancient Greek ἀφύη (aphúē, “small fry; anchovy”), itself of uncertain origin.^[3][4][5][1] The change of Latin ⟨-pi-⟩ to ⟨-ci-⟩ is typical of Genoese and rules out a Tuscan word; the oldest Medieval Latin records come from Liguria and Piedmont (Medieval Latin anchiudis, 1327), and the LEI looks to Genoa as the centre from which the word spread.^[4][6][2][3] Pliny has the forms apua and aphya.^[2]

From Liguria come Spanish anchoa (the source of French anchois), Catalan anxova, Portuguese anchova, Occitan anchoia and Sicilian anciova.^[4][7][6] The English anchovy and German Anschove come from the same source.^[6]

The details are disputed: DELI notes that the step from the Genoese to the Italian form is hard to explain;^[3] Morani looked for it in the word's prehistory, in the Vulgar Latin form, and Petrolini allowed an origin from Latin clupea (“a small river fish”) as equally possible.^[3] Prati thought a Genoese or Sicilian source unlikely.^[8] Meyer-Lübke found the history of the word unexplained.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Francesco Balducci Pegolotti's merchant handbook, the Pratica della mercatura, before 1347: “Sardelle e acciughe si vendono in Napoli a barili” (sardines and anchovies are sold in Naples by the barrel).^[3][9][6]

Semantic evolution

The anchovy was a cheap salted food from the start: Old Italian said valere meno di un'acciuga “to be worth less than an anchovy”.^[9] Burchiello (1449) and Lorenzo de' Medici mention it.^[2][6] Dictionaries from Florio (1598) to Veneroni (1681) also give it the sense of an anchovy sauce used to baste food.^[2] Later dictionaries applied it to other small fish, such as salted sardines (1704).^[2]

The figurative sense “very thin person” is recorded from 1855, and stare pigiati come acciughe, from anchovies packed in barrels, means to be crammed together.^[3][10] Acciugata, a sauce of anchovies, dates from 1846, and acciughina “silverfish”, the insect that eats books, from 1855.^[3] Pasta d'acciughe, the paste sold in tubes, is recorded from 1955.^[2]

Timeline

• 1327 – Medieval Latin anchiudis is recorded in Liguria.^[3]
• Before 1347 – Pegolotti uses acciughe.^[3][9]
• 1449 – Burchiello uses the word.^[2]
• 1846 – acciugata “anchovy sauce” is recorded.^[3]
• 1855 – The sense “very thin person” and acciughina “silverfish” are recorded.^[3]
• 1955 – pasta d'acciughe is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. anchovy, a small silvery sea fish (Engraulis encrasicolus) of the Mediterranean and Atlantic, eaten fresh or preserved in salt or oil; also called alice: acciughe sott'olio.^[5][11][12]
2. (figurative, colloquial) A very thin person: Dopo la malattia era diventato un'acciuga.^[5][11][10]

Word family

• acciugata
• acciughina
• acciughetta
• acciugaio

Related words

• alice
• Ancient Greek ἀφύη (aphúē)
• Spanish anchoa

Usage notes

Stare stretti come acciughe means to be packed tight, and acciuga dei libri is the silverfish.^[13][10] Erba acciuga is a Tuscan name for oregano and savory (1913); the origin of this acciuga is uncertain.^[5][10][13] DEI thought of a herb used to season anchovies, but suspected a folk etymology and allowed a semi-learned adaptation of the plant name ajuga.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 61
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 1, 87
7. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 18
9. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ 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
12. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 28