annaffiare

Forms

annaffiare (first-person singular present annàffio, first-person singular past historic annaffiài, past participle annaffiàto, auxiliary avére)^[1] The variants innaffiare and inaffiare are also standard.^[2][3][1] The Sicilian form is annaciari.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *inafflāre (“to blow into”), formed with in- on afflō (“to blow on”), itself ad- and flō (“to blow”).^[5][6][7][1] DELI and Sabatini–Coletti give this origin as probable.^[5][8] The LEI treats it under the Latin verb for “to blow on”.^[5][9] REW records the Vulgar Latin verb only for Italian, and rejects Pascal's derivation from the Germanic word for a bowl, since no other trace of it is found in Italy.^[10]

The Tuscan form has ⟨an-⟩ for the prefix ⟨in-⟩, with the nasal doubled before the vowel of the base as in innamorare.^[6] Sabatini–Coletti explains ⟨ann-⟩ by analogy with verbs beginning in ⟨adn-⟩, and Devoto saw a blend of *adafflāre and the form with ⟨in-⟩.^[8][11] De Vaan tentatively reconstructs the root of the Latin verb for blowing as Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to blow”).^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI dates the verb to the Italian translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi's treatise on agriculture, about 1350, in the sense of sprinkling with water as rain does.^[5] Crescenzi warns that cucumbers should not be watered after the seeds have sprouted, as watering destroys them.^[13] The TLIO's first record is in Fazio degli Uberti's Dittamondo (c. 1345–1367).^[9]

Semantic evolution

The verb stayed with gardens and fields: Firenzuola's gardener zappava e annaffiava, and Davanzati advised watering young peach trees in summer.^[13][14] It was also used of wetting piles of brick, and of the rain soaking a passer-by.^[14] Collodi's Pinocchio is drenched from head to foot by a basin of water, come se fosse un vaso di giranio appassito.^[13]

Benvenuto Cellini used it figuratively for princes who “water” the virtues by keeping good men about them.^[14] In jest the verb is used of washing down a meal with wine, and of watering wine down.^[7][2][14] The watering can, annaffiatoio, is recorded from before 1604, and innaffiatoio from 1584.^[5][15]

Timeline

• c. 1350 – The Italian translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi uses annaffiare.^[5]
• 1584 – Raffaello Borghini uses innaffiatoio “watering can”.^[15]
• Before 1604 – Annaffiatoio appears in Marcello Adriani.^[5]
• 1840–1842 – Manzoni uses the noun annaffiata.^[5]
• 1916 – Innaffiatrice, a street-watering vehicle, appears in Gozzano.^[15]

Meanings

Verb

1. To water plants or ground by sprinkling water as rain does; also to wet streets to clean them: Ogni sera annaffia i gerani sul balcone.^[7][2][8]
2. By extension, to drench, soak someone: Il temporale ci ha annaffiati mentre tornavamo.^[7][2]
3. (humorous) To wash down food with a drink, especially wine: Ha annaffiato la cena con un buon rosso.^[7][2][3]
4. (humorous) To dilute wine with water, annacquare it.^[7][2][16]

Word family

• annaffiatoio
• annaffiata
• innaffiatoio
• annaffiatore
• annaffiatura
• annaffiatrice

Related words

• afflato
• soffiare
• Latin flō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 210
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
12. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
13. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
14. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
15. ^ a b c Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 1, 1250
16. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)