calamaio

Forms

calamaio m (plural calamai)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin calamārium, the noun of Latin calamārius (“for holding pens”), from calamus (“reed; reed pen”) with the suffix -ārius.^[2][3][4][1] The Latin suffix has its Tuscan outcome ⟨-aio⟩.^[2][5][6]

The Latin noun first named a case for pens.^[7] Kahane found the change to a container for ink in Byzantine καλαμάριον (kalamárion) of the 4th century, and the word lives on in that sense in Italo-Romance, with a popular sound development.^[7] Romanian călimară “inkwell” comes from the Byzantine word.^[7] Wartburg thought it was carried from country to country from about 1300, perhaps by students.^[7] In Liguria, Piedmont, Ticino, Lombardy and the Veneto the forms point to a base *calamārem, as does Old Occitan calamar.^[7]

The Latin word for a reed is from Ancient Greek κάλαμος (kálamos, “reed”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is Sienese, in Mattasalà's book of 1233–1243, for the container of ink into which the pen is dipped.^[8] Rustico Filippi complains A me penna non val né calamaio (“pen and inkwell are no use to me”).^[9]

Semantic evolution

By metonymy the inkwell stood for writing itself, and for a letter.^[8] The Tuscan phrase la penna e 'l calamaro meant the act or the trade of writing (1314, Francesco da Barberino).^[7] The translation of Marco Polo mentions ebony di che si fanno calamari (from which inkwells are made).^[9] The pocket inkwell had a tight lid so that it could be carried without spilling.^[9][10]

Because the squid squirts a black liquid when threatened, pesce calamaio gave its name to the calamaro, first as calamaia in Giordano da Pisa (1305–1306). The non-Tuscan form calamaro later prevailed for the animal, keeping it apart from the inkwell.^[2][11] Printing gave the word a new sense, the ink reservoir of a press.^[12][13] With fountain pens and ballpoints the inkwell has almost disappeared from use.^[10]

Timeline

• 4th century – Byzantine Greek kalamárion comes to mean an inkwell.^[7]
• 1233–1243 – First Italian record, in Siena.^[8]
• About 1300 – Old Occitan calamar “inkwell”.^[7]
• 1305–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses calamaia for the squid.^[2]
• 1314 – Francesco da Barberino uses la penna e 'l calamaro for writing.^[7]
• 1471 – Middle French calemar is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. inkwell, a small pot holding the ink into which a pen was dipped: Sul banco del nonno c'era ancora il foro per il calamaio.^{[11][12][6][13][10]}
2. (printing) The ink reservoir of a printing press.^{[11][12][6][13]}

Word family

• calamaietto
• calamaino

Related words

• calamo
• calamaro
• Latin calamarius
• Romanian călimară

Usage notes

The set phrase carta, penna e calamaio stands for everything needed to write.^[10][14] GRADIT also lists calamaio as an obsolete variant of calamaro “squid”, a sense other dictionaries call rare or archaic.^[11][12][10] In the north, dialect forms such as Piedmontese and Venetian caramàl also mean a dark ring under the eye.^[15][16]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 9, 740
8. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
9. ^ 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. 2, 510
10. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c d 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 Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
15. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 666
16. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter