boria

Forms

boria f (plural borie)^[1]

Etymology

In the most likely explanation it is inherited from Latin boreas (“north wind”), from Ancient Greek Βορέας (Boréās).^[2][3][4][1] The image is of a person full of wind: Prati gathered parallel phrases such as darsi delle arie (“to give oneself airs”) and essere pieno di vento (“to be full of wind”).^[2][3][5] He also noted that Lombard bòra in the countryside around Milan means both the north wind and conceit, that Venetian boreoso (“conceited”) is found in Magagnò (1560) at Vicenza, and that Sicilian bòira means fog, the north wind and conceit.^[5]

The LEI sorts the Romance outcomes of the Latin word into layers: the type ⟨bora⟩ in the north, the type ⟨boira⟩ with the vowel moved forward, as in Old French boire (“north wind”) and Catalan boira (“fog”), and ⟨boria⟩ in Tuscany, with the ⟨-i-⟩ put back as in ⟨aira⟩ > ⟨aria⟩.^[6][3] DEI and GDLI call the word learned, while Tommaseo thought it imitative.^[7][8][9] Zaccaria derived it instead from a Germanic word, comparing Middle High German bôr (“uprising; arrogance”).^[10] The same Latin word gave bora, borea, burrasca and buriana.^[3][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in a Florentine text by A. Pucci dated 1342, where the word means vanity, too high an opinion of one's own worth.^[12][13] DELI gives F. Sacchetti, before 1400, as its first source.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the word also meant pomp and display, and the phrase per boria meant lightly, carelessly.^[12][7] Derivatives followed quickly: borioso in Boccaccio (1339–1340), the verb boriare “to boast” at the end of the 14th century, and boriosità before 1508.^[2] Pulci, Boiardo and Lorenzo de' Medici use boria for arrogance, and Lorenzo pairs it with fumo (smoke) for empty pride.^[8]

Vico spoke of la boria de' dotti, the conceit of scholars who want what they know to be as old as the world.^[13] The northern dialects kept the simple form: Milanese bora meant conceit before 1699, and Venetian boridòn and related forms came to mean a lie or a boast.^[6]

Timeline

• 1339–1340 – Boccaccio uses borioso.^[2]
• 1342 – A. Pucci uses boria.^[12]
• End of the 14th century – Paolo da Certaldo uses boriare.^[2]
• Before 1400 – F. Sacchetti uses boria.^[2]
• Before 1508 – Boriosità is recorded in Calmeta.^[2]
• 1560 – Vicentine boreoso “conceited” appears in Magagnò.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. conceit, arrogance: a vain show of one's own merits, real or imagined: Parla sempre con molta boria dei suoi successi.^[4][14][13]

Word family

• borioso
• boriosità
• boriarsi

Related words

• bora
• borea
• burrasca
• Latin boreas

Usage notes

Common phrases are essere pieno di boria (to be full of conceit), mettere su boria (to start putting on airs) and avere boria di una cosa (to be vain about something).^[13][15][16] Near-synonyms are superbia, spocchia and vanagloria: Zingarelli notes that spocchia adds a disdainful air of superiority.^[13]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 163
6. ^ a b Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 6, 1070
7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 566
8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 2, 315
9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ Zaccaria, Enrico (1901), L'elemento germanico nella lingua italiana: lessico con appendice e prospetto cronologico, Bologna: Treves
11. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
12. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
13. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
15. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
16. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli