bibbio

Forms

bibbio m (plural bibbi)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin vĭpĭo (“a small crane”).^[2][3][4][1] DEI notes that Pliny gives it as a word of the Balearic Islands.^[5] Like French vigeon (also vingeon), the name of the same duck, it presupposes a form *vibio.^[5][6] DEI sees in the alternation of voiceless and voiced consonants a feature of ancient Mediterranean words.^[5] Zingarelli and Sabatini–Coletti take the Latin word as onomatopoeic.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word before 1564, in the old variant bibione.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (zoology) The Eurasian wigeon (Anas penelope), more often called fischione.^{[2][7][4][9][1]}
2. (central Italy) The black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus).^[2][3][4][1]

Related words

• fischione

Usage notes

Variants are bibbo, used at Pisa and Lucca, and bibbione.^[5][3][8] Tommaseo–Bellini also gives morigiana as a name of the duck.^[9]

GDLI records a separate, disused bibbio meaning “simpleton”, which it compares with babbeo.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 508
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 1, 919