aspro

Forms

aspro (feminine aspra, masculine plural aspri, feminine plural aspre, superlative asprissimo, diminutive asprétto or asprìno)^[1] Old Italian also had aspero, now obsolete.^[2][3][4] The superlative is asprissimo or the Latinism asperrimo, the latter mostly in figurative senses.^[5][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin asper (“rough; harsh; sour”), from the accusative asperum.^[6][7][8][9]

The Latin word is continued everywhere in Romance: French âpre, Occitan aspre, Catalan aspre, Spanish áspero, Portuguese áspero, Sardinian aspru and Romanian aspru.^[7][9][10] The LEI counts forms keeping the unstressed -e-, such as Old Italian aspero, as learned.^[9] In some dialects it crossed with acidus (“sour”), giving Sicilian aspitu in Sicily.^[11][10]

The origin of Latin asper is unclear.^[6][12] Nocentini and Devoto find no comparisons outside Latin.^[7][12] Wiktionary connects it with Proto-Indo-European *h₂esp- (“to cut”).^[1] Battisti and Alessio suggest a link with Ancient Greek ἀσπίς (aspís, “asp”), both as independent relics of a Mediterranean substrate.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Brunetto Latini's Rettorica of about 1260–1261.^[13] DELI's oldest dated sense is “rough, steep” of a place, in Pannuccio del Bagno, before 1276; the LEI dates the same sense from 1276.^[6][9]

Semantic evolution

Italian kept the senses the Latin word already had: steep and hard to cross, rough to the touch, sour to the taste, harsh to the ear, and figuratively difficult, fierce or rough in manner.^[9][13] DELI dates “rough to the touch, bristly” to Zucchero Bencivenni in 1310, “shrill, grating” to Dante, “fierce of spirit” to Villani, and “sour” to the Italian Crescenzi of about 1350.^[6] Dante's wood is selva selvaggia e aspra e forte and he asks for rime aspre e chiocce, harsh and grating rhymes.^[14][15]

In grammar the word described a voiceless s or z (Salviati) and the rough breathing of Greek vowels, the spirito aspro.^[16][3] As a noun l'aspro is sourness, and in Tuscany dry, parched ground.^[8][4] In the dialects of the Abruzzi coast the noun names the rocky sea floor and deep-sea fishing.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1260–1261 – Brunetto Latini uses the word in the Rettorica.^[13]
• Before 1276 – Pannuccio del Bagno uses it of rough, steep ground.^[6][9]
• Before 1292 – Asprezza is first recorded, in Giamboni.^[6]
• 1310 – Zucchero Bencivenni uses it for “rough to the touch”.^[6]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for a harsh, grating sound.^[6]
• Before 1348 – Villani uses it of a fierce spirit.^[6]
• c. 1350 – The Italian Crescenzi uses it for a sour taste.^[6]
• Before 1606 – Asprigno “somewhat sour” appears in Davanzati.^[6] D'Annunzio later revived it.^[6]
• 1889 – Aspretto, the slightly sour taste of wine, is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. sour, tart, with the sharp taste of unripe fruit: Queste susine sono ancora aspre.^[8][15][3]
2. Of a smell, pungent, acrid.^[8][15][2]
3. Of a sound or voice, harsh, grating, shrill.^[8][2][14]
4. (linguistics, dated) Voiceless, of s and z.^[8][3][5] Spirito aspro: the rough breathing of Greek.^[8][3][5]
5. Rough to the touch, uneven.^[8][15][4]
6. Of a place or ground, rugged, steep, hard to cross; bare and wild.^[8][15][2]
7. (figurative) Of climate or season, severe, harsh.^[8][15][2]
8. (figurative) Hard and tiring; painful, heavy to bear: un'aspra salita.^[8][15]
9. (figurative) Harsh, severe, brusque in manner: Gli rispose con parole aspre.^[8][2][4]
10. (figurative) Fierce, bitter, of a fight or quarrel.^[8][2][14]

Noun

1. Sourness, a sour taste.^[8][5]
2. (Tuscany) Dry, parched ground.^[4]

Word family

• asprezza
• aspramente
• asprigno
• aspretto
• asprino
• inasprire
• inasprimento
• aspreggiare

Related words

• asperità
• asperrimo
• Latin asper

Usage notes

A separate noun aspro, a Byzantine and later Turkish silver coin, is recorded from the 14th century: it comes from ἄσπρος (áspros), itself from Latin asper (nummus), a coin freshly struck and so rough to the touch.^[8][5][11] The TLIO first finds it in the Tuscan Milione of the early 14th century, and German had it as Asper from 1479.^[13][17]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d e Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
5. ^ 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)
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b c d e f g Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it
10. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 326
12. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
14. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
16. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
17. ^ Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it