bozzima

Forms

bozzima f (plural bozzime)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin apŏzĕma (“decoction”), from Ancient Greek ἀπόζεμα (apózema, “decoction”), from ἀποζέω (apozéō, “to boil off”), formed from ζέω (zéō, “to boil”) with ἀπό (apó, “away from”).^[2][3][4][5] The LEI finds the Greek technical term in Late Latin glosses as apocima, and as apozima in some manuscripts of Isidore's Etymologies.^[6] The Latin neuter was taken as a feminine.^[3]

The word came through northern Italy, where intervocalic /p/ became /b/, as in bottega from Latin apothēca.^[2][6] The initial ⟨a-⟩ was then lost by false division of the article: a form like ⟨l’abozzima⟩ was heard as ⟨la bozzima⟩.^[2][4][7] The Florentine form biozzima presupposes an earlier diphthong.^[2]

The meaning “decoction” of the Greek and Latin word survives in no Romance language.^[6] Related forms are Friulian bòsime, Romansh blosna and Spanish pócima “potion”.^[6][8][3] The learned doublet is apozema.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the statutes of Siena (1308–1367), for the solution soaked into cloth to make it smooth and flexible.^[9] DELI gives Medieval Latin boxina at Bologna in 1372, bossima at Lucca in 1376 and bozzina at Florence in the 15th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word was first a weavers' term: a Lucca ordinance cited by Tommaseo–Bellini forbade weavers to put bozima or lattata on the loom, allowing only clear water.^[10] Later dictionaries describe it as a paste of bran or flour, water and fat or tallow brushed onto the warp threads so that they pass more easily through the heddles and break less.^[10][11]

In 1865 Tommaseo–Bellini records the sense “bran mash for chickens”.^[2][10] From this came any watery, unpleasant mixture, and figuratively a long, dull piece of writing or speech.^[4][12] In agriculture it is the mixture of clay and dung in which the roots of young trees are dipped before planting.^[4][13][5] In the dialects the word also means a sticky soup, and Emilian and Venetian have the phrase “to give the bozzima”, that is, to size the threads.^[6]

Timeline

• 1308–1367 – The Sienese statutes use bozzima for the size used on cloth.^[9]
• 1372 – Medieval Latin boxina is recorded at Bologna.^[2]
• 1376 – Bossima is recorded at Lucca.^[2][4]
• Before 1492 – The form bozzima is found in Lorenzo de' Medici.^[2]
• 1865 – The sense “bran mash for chickens” is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (textiles) size: a sticky solution with which yarn is soaked before weaving to make it smooth, flexible and strong.^[4][13][14]
2. (agriculture) A watery mixture of clay and dung in which the roots of trees are dipped before transplanting.^[4][13][14]
3. (central Italy) A mash of bran and water for chickens.^[4][13][14]
4. (by extension) Any watery, disgusting food or mixture.^[4][13][7]

Word family

• imbozzimare
• sbozzimare

Related words

• apozema
• Spanish pócima

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
6. ^ a b c d e Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 161
7. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 2, 337
12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
13. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli