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arcolaio

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word arcolaio

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1348–1353 Boccaccio, Decameron More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
Proto-Italic *arkuos,*-āzios
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin arcus
French arc
Italian arco
Italian arcolaio
Romanian arc
Spanish arco
From the same root
Latin arcuārius ← arcus
Romanian arcar ← arc
Spanish arquero ← arco

Forms

arcolaio m (plural arcolai)[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian arco + -aio, built on arcora, the old plural of the noun.[2][3][4][5] The form comes by dissimilation of the two ⟨r⟩ from an unrecorded ⟨*arcoraio⟩;[3][6][7] Nocentini compares agoraio from ago.[3][6][7] DELI adds that some dialects have a dissimilated ⟨arcola⟩.[2]

C. Salvini, quoted by DELI, explained the plural: the staves of the reel are joined in pointed arches.[2] The TLIO and the LEI file the word under Latin arculus (“little arch”).[8][9] Wiktionary derives it instead from Latin arculārius, a derivative of arcula (“small box”), which the OLD records only as a maker of chests.[1][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Boccaccio has it in the proem of the Decameron (1348–53): his tales are for women in love, “since for the others the needle, the spindle and the reel are enough” (per ciò che all'altre è assai l'ago, il fuso e l'arcolaio).[2][11]

Semantic evolution

The word belongs to Tuscany.[2] Leonardo noted that the women's tools for gathering thread were called arcolai by the Florentines and bicocche by the Lombards.[2] Florio's dictionary of 1598 gives a form arcolagio.[9]

From the 15th century the turning reel gave images of speed, restlessness and confusion: Pulci (1483) has someone turn “like a reel”, and later writers set the head, thoughts or a dance spinning like one.[9] In the 16th century arcolai also meant fancies and whims (Caro), and an arcolaio a fickle person.[9][4] A Tuscan proverb, first in Cecchi (1585), says that the older the reel, the better it turns: old lovers commit more follies than young ones.[9]

The name was also given to an old siege engine (Berni, before 1535), a spiral firework and a shell (D'Alberti, 1797), and in the 20th century to the drum from which electric wire is unwound.[9][11][4]

Timeline

  • 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses arcolaio in the Decameron.[2][4]
  • 1483 – Pulci compares quick turning to an arcolaio.[9]
  • Before 1535 – Berni uses it for a siege engine.[9]
  • Before 1566 – Caro uses the plural for whims and fancies.[9]
  • 1585 – The proverb of the old reel appears in Cecchi.[9]
  • 1797 – D'Alberti records the firework and shell senses.[9]
  • 1955 – The electrical sense is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A swift or skein winder: a revolving frame of staves on which a skein of yarn is held while it is wound into balls.[4][6][5][1]
  2. (electrical engineering) A tapered drum turning on a vertical axis, from which coils of wire are paid out.[4][12]
  3. (figurative, archaic) A fickle person.[4][13]
  4. (figurative, archaic) A fancy or whim.[4][13]
  • arco
  • dipanatoio
  • bindolo
  • Latin arculus

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  8. ^ Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 926
  10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  12. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
  13. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
Cite this entry

“Arcolaio.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/arcolaio. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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