bacio

bacio¹ kiss

Etymology tree of bacio¹

inherited borrowed derived

Latin basium

Italian bacio

Derived words · bacio¹

Latin basio ← basium

Pronunciation

• /ˈba.t͡ʃo/, [ˈbaːʃo]^[1]

Forms

bacio m (plural baci)^[1] Old Italian forms include bascio, basio, baso and bagio.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

The kiss is inherited from Latin bāsium (“kiss”).^[3][5][6][1] The Latin word first appears, with the verb basiāre, in Catullus, who was from Verona, and that is why it is often thought to be a Celtic loan.^[3][7][8] Its erotic sense set it apart from Latin ōsculum, but in Imperial Latin it became the ordinary word, replacing that noun and sāvium.^[7][9] De Vaan also notes the many words for “kiss” in other languages built on Proto-Indo-European *bu- with a sibilant, which point to a sound-imitative origin.^[7][1]

The word survives everywhere in Romance except French and Romanian: Friulian bâs, Occitan bais, Catalan bes, Spanish beso, Portuguese beijo and Sardinian basu.^[5][9][10] In the South Italian dialects the word fell together with the outcome of Latin vas (“vessel”) and was replaced by derivatives.^[8][10] The old spelling with ⟨sc⟩ beside ⟨c⟩ shows the hesitation between /tʃ/ and /ʃ/ in rendering Latin /sj/.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is bascio in Rinaldo d'Aquino, in the 13th century, for the kiss given out of love;^[3][2][12] Zingarelli dates the word to about 1261.^[3][2][12] The spelling bacio appears in Cecco Angiolieri before 1313.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already distinguished kisses of love, of family affection, of respect and submission, of peace, and the kiss given to the ground of a holy place; the bacio di Giuda echoes the Gospel story of Judas's betrayal.^[2][3] Tommaseo records the Tuscan proverb bacio di bocca spesso cuor non tocca (“a kiss of the mouth often does not touch the heart”).^[13]

Modern Italian ends letters with baci or baci e abbracci and has many fixed phrases: bacio della buonanotte, bacio della morte, malattia del bacio (mononucleosis), and colloquial al bacio “perfect”.^[6][14][12] Bacio is also a sweet: the bacio di dama and the chocolate with a hazelnut first sold as a brand name by the Perugina company.^[14][15]

Timeline

• 13th century – Rinaldo d'Aquino uses bascio.^[3][2]
• Before 1313 – Cecco Angiolieri uses the form bacio.^[3]
• 1367 – Fazio degli Uberti uses bagio.^[4]
• Before 1554 – Baciamano is recorded in Sabba da Castiglione.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A kiss, a touch of the lips on someone or something as a sign of love, affection or respect: Le ha dato un bacio sulla guancia.^[6][14][11]
2. In greetings and at the end of letters: baci, un bacio.^[6][14]
3. (cooking) A small sweet or chocolate: bacio di dama.^[14][15]

Word family

• baciare
• bacetto
• bacione
• baciucchiare
• sbaciucchiare
• baciamano
• baciapile
• combaciare

bacio² shady, north-facing

Pronunciation

• /baˈt͡ʃi.o/^[1]

Forms

bacio (feminine bacia, masculine plural bacii, feminine plural bacie)^[1]

Etymology

The adjective “north-facing” is inherited from Vulgar Latin *opacīvus (“shady”), a Vulgar Latin derivative of Latin opācus (“shady, dark”).^[3][5][6][1] It is stressed on the ⟨i⟩.^[14][15] The /b/ for /p/ is due to northern Italian dialects, and the first vowel was taken as part of the article: “l’obacìo” became “lo bacìo”.^[5][16] Related dialect forms are Lombard vag, Romagnol beg and Piedmontese übak, and Old Italian ombaco has its ⟨m⟩ from ombra.^[10][17][8] Across the Alps the same Latin word gave Occitan ubac and Catalan ubac.^[10][8]

The origin of the Latin adjective is unknown; de Vaan rejects the old comparison with Sanskrit and Old Church Slavonic words meaning “turned away” and suggests, only as a possibility, a compound with the root of Latin vacuus.^[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Florentine Libro segreto di Giotto (1308–1330).^[2] DELI's first records are Luigi Pulci (before 1484) for a north-facing place and Giovan Battista Tedaldi (16th century) for the adjective.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word is Tuscan and mostly agricultural, the opposite of solatio “sunny”: Crescenzi's translation already uses a bacìo “facing north”, and Bernardo Davanzati writes of plums that thrive in luoghi murati e bacii (walled and shady places).^[18][13][5] Pascoli and D'Annunzio revived it as a literary word.^[8][18]

Timeline

• 1308–1330 – Bacìo appears in the Libro segreto di Giotto.^[2]
• Before 1484 – Luigi Pulci uses it for a north-facing place.^[3]
• 16th century – Giovan Battista Tedaldi uses it as an adjective.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (regional, rare) shady, not reached by the sun because it faces north: un pendio bacìo.^[6][14][12]

Noun

1. (regional) A north-facing, shady place, a bacìo, facing north.^[6][12][19]