bilico

Forms

bilico m (plural bilici or bilichi (uncommon or archaic))^[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian bilicare (“to balance”), as a deverbal noun of a verb now out of use but well recorded in the older dictionaries.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The verb is of uncertain origin.^[2] DELI and Nocentini both think it probably continues Vulgar Latin *umbilicāre, formed from Latin umbilicus (“navel”), which also meant the central point of anything and, in Nocentini's gloss, the centre of gravity.^[2][3][1] The same Latin noun gave ombelico and the older bellico.^[1][6][7]

The Latin noun has a complex suffix: de Vaan takes it to be an old l-stem, Proto-Italic *omb-elo-, extended with the suffix -īcus.^[8][1] Its source is Proto-Indo-European *h₃nbʰ-(e/o)l- (“navel”), and its cognates include Ancient Greek ὀμφαλός (omphalós, “navel; boss”), Old Irish imbliu (“navel”) and Old High German nabalo (“navel”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in the chronicle of Giovanni Villani, who died in 1348, for the position of a body held in unstable balance.^[2][5] Villani also called the hill of Poggibonsi the bilico of Tuscany, its central point, a use the GDLI and Tommaseo put under a separate entry for the shortened form of umbilico.^[6][9]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense of doubt or uncertainty, the state of a mind that hangs between two choices, is recorded before 1565 in Benedetto Varchi.^[2] Varchi also wrote of things in the sky that move to and fro with alternating balances and counterweights (con iscambievoli bilichi e contrappesi).^[6][9] Bernardo Davanzati's Tacitus has a frightening machine hung in bilico, which swung down and pulled enemies up before their eyes.^[6][9]

From the point of balance the word passed to the pivots and hinges on which things turn: the pin of a hinge set into the hole of a second plate, the lower pivot of a gate, the two pins on which a bell swings, and the point of a pair of scales where the beam with the pans hangs.^[5][10][11] The railways took it for the turning platforms fitted on pairs of wagons that carry long loads, for the weighbridge (ponte a bilico), and for the tipping wagon (carro a bilico).^[12][13][10] The most recent sense is an articulated lorry.^[10][14][1] Today the noun is mostly heard in the phrase in bilico, in unstable balance or in suspense.^[11][15]

Timeline

• Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses bilico for unstable balance.^[2][5]
• Before 1565 – Benedetto Varchi uses it for doubt and uncertainty.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. balance, the position of a body in unstable equilibrium, above all in the phrase in bilico: Il bicchiere restava in bilico sull'orlo del tavolo.^[12][13][1]
2. (figurative) A state of uncertainty or suspense, for example Rimase a lungo in bilico tra le due offerte..^[12][10][13]
3. A hinge made of two small plates, one with a pin that fits into a hole in the other.^[5][10][13]
4. The lower pivot of a gate.^[5][12]
5. Each of the two pins on which a bell swings.^[5][12][10]
6. The point of a pair of scales from which the beam with the pans hangs.^[5][12][14]
7. (rail transport) A turning platform fitted to each of two wagons that carry very long loads together.^[5][13]
8. An articulated lorry, a semi-trailer truck.^[10][14][1]

Related words

• ombelico
• bellico
• Latin umbilicus

Usage notes

Bilico is stressed on the first syllable.^[12][1] Its plural is bilici, and less often bilichi.^[12][13] The Old Italian bilìco, stressed on the second syllable, was a shortened form of umbilico meaning “navel” and, figuratively, “centre”.^[9][6][16]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 2, 235
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ a b c 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
16. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 519