calcagno

Forms

calcagno m (plural calcagni m or (in fixed expressions) calcagna f)^[1] Old Italian forms include calcagnio, calcanio, calcang and carcagno.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin calcāneum (“heel”), a Late Latin word recorded from the 2nd century, derived from classical Latin calx (“heel”), which it replaced.^[4][5][6][3] Devoto starts from Vulgar Latin *calcanjum, whose /nj/ gave the Italian /ɲɲ/.^[7] According to a hypothesis of Zauner that the LEI finds plausible, the word first named the heel bone.^[3]

The same word is Romanian călcîi, Dalmatian calcain, Romansh calcogn, Occitan calcanh, Old French calcain (in Old Walloon) and Sardinian kalkándzu.^[5][3][8][9] It covers almost all of Italy except Piedmont and Romagna,^[3] while in northern France it gave way to the type of French talon.^[10]

The origin of the classical noun is unclear: de Vaan finds the comparison with Balto-Slavic words for parts of the leg doubtful at best, and notes that a non-Indo-European, perhaps Etruscan, source has been proposed without any concrete match.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest Italian record is the Milanese form calcanio in Bonvesin, before 1315, meaning “heel”.^[3][2] DELI's first record is Dante, before 1321, for the back of the foot: Tal era lì dai calcagni a le punte (“so was it there from heels to toes”, Inferno 19).^[4][12]

Semantic evolution

The old plural calcagne or calcagna was common in early Tuscan: Dante's batti a terra le calcagne (“strike the ground with your heels”, Purgatorio 19) and his dare delle calcagne, “to spur on”.^[12][13] Boccaccio's Calandrino is hit nel calcagno by a stone.^[12][14]

The LEI groups the senses into the human body, the animal body, plants and objects; the first two go back to Latin, and transferred senses like the later ones already existed for calx.^[3] The heel of a stocking or shoe is recorded from 1554 and the back end of scissors from 1681.^[4] Older technical senses included the butt of a lance and the lower part of a curtain wall.^[15] Its synonym tallone is a 14th-century loan from French.^[3]

Derivatives include scalcagnare (15th century), “to tread on with the heel; to mistreat”, and its participle scalcagnato, “down at heel” (17th century).^[5]

Timeline

• Before 1315 – Bonvesin writes Milanese calcanio.^[3]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses calcagno for the heel.^[4]
• 15th century – Scalcagnare is first recorded.^[5]
• 1554 – Bandello uses the word for the heel of a stocking or shoe.^[4]
• 17th century – Scalcagnato appears.^[5]
• 1681 – Baldinucci records the sense “back part of scissors”.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The back part of the foot, the heel: Mi fa male il calcagno sinistro.^{[6][16][17][1]}
2. (anatomy) The calcaneus, the largest bone of the tarsus.^[6][16][18]
3. The part of a sock, stocking or shoe that covers the heel.^{[6][16][19][1]}

Word family

• scalcagnato
• scalcagnare
• rincalcagnare
• calcagnolo
• calcagnare
• calcagnata
• calcagnino

Related words

• calcare
• calcio
• Latin calx

Usage notes

In the literal senses the plural is calcagni; in figurative phrases it is the feminine calcagna (older calcagne).^{[19][17][18][16]} DELI traces calcagna to the Latin neuter plural calcānea, as with braccia and ginocchia.^[4] Phrases: avere qualcuno alle calcagna, to be closely followed by someone;^[17][18][16] mettere qualcuno alle calcagna di, to set someone to watch another;^[17][18][16] voltare or battere le calcagna, to run away.^[17][18][16]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 9, 895
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
10. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 671
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
13. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
15. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 206
16. ^ 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
17. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
18. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
19. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse