bagliore

Forms

bagliore m (plural bagliori)^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is disputed, though the sources agree that it belongs with the verb abbagliare (“to dazzle”).^[2][3][4][5] For Nocentini and Devoto–Oli it is from Vulgar Latin *balium (“shining”), from Ancient Greek βαλιός (baliós), a variant of φαλιός (phaliós, “white, shining”), with the suffix -ore of abstract nouns.^[6][7] Devoto explained the Latin form as a blend of Latin badius (“bay (of a horse)”) and the Greek adjective;^[8][2] DELI finds this rather complicated, though it accounts for the verb, and rejects varius (“varied”) on phonetic grounds.^[8][2]

The LEI, which the TLIO follows, prefers a pre-Roman base meaning shining, ⟨*balyo-⟩, perhaps Celtic, with an ablaut variant of Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“shining, white”); it would also explain Old French baille (“(of a horse) with a white blaze”) (1340) and a Romansh word for the cockchafer, and the Italian family probably began in Cisalpine Gaul.^[9][10][2] The LEI rejects Parodi's *ex-variāre and H. Meier's *exvagulāre on phonetic and chronological grounds, Prati's *balliāre, a variant of ballare, on semantic ones, as well as an origin among the Germanic languages.^[9] Nocentini answers that Gaulish *balios is reconstructed on paper and has no Gallo-Romance descendants, whereas the Greek word, said of a horse dappled with white, is recorded from Homer, although its ⟨b-⟩ for expected ⟨ph-⟩ is usually put down to an unidentified other language.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Franco Sacchetti's Sposizioni di Vangeli (Florence, 1378–1381), for light so strong that it blinds for a moment: In questa pena e in questo bagliore di luce dissolvea li suoi peccati.^[10][11][6]

Semantic evolution

From the 16th century the word is used of any sudden flash or vivid brightness;^[9][12][11] Firenzuola describes a storm in which, as it lightened, appariva un certo bagliore.^[9][12][11] In the plural bagliori it named an eye disorder that clouds the sight with streaks or spots of light: a character of Machiavelli's Clizia complains mi pare avere i bagliori.^[9][11] Dictionaries from 1829 to 1863 also give it for seeing things that are not there.^[9]

Figurative senses appear in the 1680s: a brief, sudden appearance of something (Baldinucci, 1686) and the first or last flashes of something splendid (1687), such as a civilisation;^[9] falso bagliore for a deceptive splendour follows in 1704.^[9] Leopardi has Corre il baglior della funerea lava in La ginestra.^[12][4] In physics, scarica a bagliore is a glow discharge.^[3][13]

Timeline

• 1378–1381 – Franco Sacchetti uses bagliore in his Sposizioni di Vangeli.^[10][6]
• 1515 – Machiavelli has the plural for an eye disorder.^[9]
• 1543 – Firenzuola uses it for a flash of light in a storm.^[9]
• 1686 – Baldinucci uses it for a brief appearance of something.^[9]
• 1704 – Falso bagliore “deceptive splendour” is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sudden, dazzling flash of light; by extension a vivid or diffuse brightness, glow: il bagliore delle fiamme all'orizzonte.^[3][7][14]
2. (figurative) A brief, sudden appearance of something: un bagliore di ironia negli occhi.^[4][7][15]
3. (figurative) A sign or splendid manifestation of something, often in the plural: i primi bagliori del Rinascimento.^[3][4][14]
4. (obsolete) An eye disorder that clouds the sight with streaks of light.^[4][11]

Related words

• abbagliare
• abbaglio
• abbagliante
• sbagliare
• barbaglio

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
6. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
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. 4, 1022
10. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
11. ^ a b c d e Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
13. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
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