argano

Forms

argano m (plural argani)^[1] Old Italian also had the feminine Old Italian argana.^[2][3] Venetian has àrgana.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *ārganum, a by-form of Latin organum (“implement, machine”), which was borrowed from Ancient Greek ὄργανον (órganon, “tool, instrument”).^{[3][5][6][7][1]} The initial /a/ comes from the Greek plural with the article fused to it, τἄργανα (tárgana) for τὰ ὄργανα (tà órgana), “the tools”.^[7][5][8][4] The form Medieval Latin arganus is recorded at Palermo in 1299.^[3] The GDLI considers it a technical word of northern Italy.^[8]

The same Vulgar Latin form gave Catalan arguena, Spanish árgano (“crane”) and Portuguese argau.^[5][4] French argue was borrowed from Italian.^[4][9] The word is a doublet of organo, which continues the classical form.^[1][3]

Körting lists older proposals: a change of suffix from ergata (“capstan”), a Gaulish word for the crane, or a by-form of the classical word.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Medieval Latin arganus appears at Palermo in 1299.^[3] The first Italian record is the feminine argana in Francesco da Barberino's Documenti d'Amore (1314), for a machine that moves and lifts heavy loads.^[2][3][6] DELI dates the masculine argano from 1483, in Luigi Pulci.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Ariosto measures the strength of a rope pulling the sea monster against that of ten capstans, and Cellini raised his casting mould con virtù d'argani e di buoni canapi, “by means of winches and good ropes”.^[11] A drum with a vertical axis is also called a cabestano.^[7]

The phrase con gli argani, a forza d'argani, “with winches”, means with great effort.^[12][13][7] The diminutive arganello passed through southern French to French arganeau, an anchor ring.^[4] The operator of a winch is an arganista (1961).^[3] In 1667 French borrowed the word as argue, a capstan, and in 1680 used it for a draw plate for gold and silver wire.^[9]

Timeline

• 1299 – Medieval Latin arganus is recorded at Palermo.^[3]
• 1314 – Francesco da Barberino uses the feminine argana.^[2][3][6]
• 1483 – Luigi Pulci uses the masculine argano.^[3]
• 1667 – French argue is first recorded.^[9]
• 1961 – Arganista “winch operator” is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A winch or hoist: a machine of a rotating drum on which a rope, cable or chain is wound, worked by hand or by motor, to lift or haul loads.^{[6][12][14][13]}

Word family

• arganello
• arganetto
• arganista

Related words

• organo
• Latin organum
• Ancient Greek ὄργανον (órganon)

Usage notes

Con gli argani is said of something done with great difficulty, such as getting someone to move.^[12][13][15] A synonym is verricello.^[14] The diminutives are arganello and arganetto.^[13][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 d e Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
5. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ 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)
8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
10. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 1, 642
12. ^ 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
13. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli