brocco

Forms

brocco m (plural brocchi)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian broccho, Old Italian brocho and Old Italian broco.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin broccus (“with protruding teeth”), through the accusative brŏccum, an adjective Varro uses of teeth that stick out.^[4][5][6][1] From the general sense “pointed, projecting” came the sense “thorn, stick, sharp point”, while the specific sense “with protruding teeth” gave “old horse, nag”, since old horses have teeth that stick out.^[7][4] Nocentini starts from Vulgar Latin *broccum “pointed or projecting object”, which also gave brocca, broccato, broccio and bronco.^[7]

The sense “nag” is recent in Italian: it came into the standard language through military slang, which took it from Piedmontese broc;^[4][8][5] Lombard has the same word.^[4][8][5] DELI notes that the link with the old horse's teeth is not proven, and cites O. Lurati's proposal of an equation in sense and form with barocco in the sense “fool, worthless man or animal”.^[4] Wiktionary and Treccani treat the northern word as a separate borrowing, probably from the same Latin source.^[1][9]

The Latin word has many Romance descendants: Occitan broc (“thorn”), French broche (“spit; brooch”) (borrowed as Spanish broche) and French broc, among others.^[7][10] Its own origin is unclear.^[7][3] Nocentini finds no comparison outside Latin.^[7] Körting and Wiktionary trace it to a Celtic stem meaning “pointed”, seen in the Old Irish word for the badger, Wiktionary through Gaulish *brokkos (“badger”).^[11][1] DEI calls the Celtic origin doubtful and leans to an Etruscan one, citing the variant Latin broncus.^[6] The LEI sees in the Latin adjective the only Latin record of a wider pre-Roman family of forms meaning “what sprouts or pricks”, and follows the view that it goes back to an obscure stem, probably of Indo-European origin, meaning “to burst out”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Pisan Bestiario toscano of about 1300, and the TLIO's first senses are “sharp point” and “branch, stem”.^[2][4] DELI dates the senses “dry branch, stick, thorn” to that text and to the 14th-century Libro di viaggi, which speaks of “un brocco, o spina” (a brocco, or thorn).^[4][12]

Semantic evolution

Around 1350 the Italian translation of Crescenzi uses the plural brocchi for shoots and sprouts, which cattle graze.^[3][13] The Medieval Latin of Mirandola has brochus in 1386.^[4] The sense “metal point” appears in Vasari in 1550, and the point at the centre of a shield gave the old phrase dare nel brocco, “to hit the centre”, from which comes imbroccare, “to hit the mark”.^[4][7][9] In weaving, a brocco is a raised loop of thread, as in brocade.^[13][14] Dialect forms are found across Italy, such as Trentino bròc and Sicilian broccu.^[3]

The sense “worthless horse” is recorded from 1905 in Panzini's dictionary; it was extended to a clumsy athlete (1967, G. Clerici) and to any person of little worth (1955).^[4] Nocentini dates this sense to 1913 and GRADIT to 1939.^[7][5] Gadda and Montale use brocchi of horses.^[13]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – The Bestiario toscano has brocco.^[2][4]
• c. 1350 – The Italian Crescenzi uses brocchi for shoots.^[3]
• 1386 – Medieval Latin brochus is recorded at Mirandola.^[4]
• 1550 – Vasari uses brocco for a metal point.^[4]
• 1905 – Panzini records the sense “worthless horse”.^[4]
• 1955 – The sense “person of little worth” is recorded.^[4]
• 1967 – G. Clerici uses it of a clumsy athlete.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A dry branch, a twig or thorn.^[5][15][16]
2. (agriculture) The stump of a branch left after pruning.^[5][15]
3. (botany, usually plural) A flower bud of the olive tree at flowering time.^[5][15][17]
4. (archaic) A metal point, especially the boss at the centre of a shield; by extension the centre of a target: dare nel brocco, to hit the mark.^[5][15][18]
5. (textiles) A raised curl of thread in the weaving of brocade.^[5][15]
6. A worthless or worn-out horse, a nag: Quel cavallo è un brocco e non vincerà mai.^[5][15][18]
7. (figurative) An incompetent person, especially a poor athlete: In squadra hanno preso un brocco.^[5][15][16]

Word family

• broccolo
• imbroccare
• sbrocco
• broccuto
• broccoso
• broccare
• brocchesco

Related words

• brocca
• broccato
• bronco
• Latin broccus

Usage notes

DEI and Tommaseo also record a masculine brocco, a jug or a measure of liquids, a variant of brocca.^[6][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e f Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 7, 588
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 605
7. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 606
9. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
12. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
13. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. II, 388
14. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
15. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
16. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
17. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
18. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli