Etymologically
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camion

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Pronunciation

Forms

camion m (invariable)[1] Tuscan speech adapted the word as camione and camio.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French camion, kept in its French spelling.[2][5][6][1] The French word is recorded from 1352 in the form chamion (“small cart”);[2][5][6] the form with initial /k/ is Norman and Picard.[2][5][6] The further origin of the French word is unknown.[2][5][3][7]

Italian stresses the first syllable, which Devoto–Oli calls an arbitrary rendering of the French pronunciation.[8][2] The small French truck, French camionnette (end of the 19th century), gave camionetta in 1942.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first Italian record is from 1875, in Lessona, as camione: a small two-wheeled vehicle that carried earth and similar loads over short distances.[2][6] Prati dates the same use to a dictionary of 1874.[4]

Semantic evolution

The modern sense came with the motor vehicle: in 1908 Panzini noted that camion now meant the motor goods wagon, and that the people said càmion and càmio.[2][9][4] Derivatives soon followed: camioncino (1923–1939, Ojetti), camionabile “passable for lorries” (1926), camionista (1935) and camionetta (1942).[2]

The word was a target of the Fascist campaign against foreign words: an order of 1932 told newspapers to use camionale in place of camionabile, and an official order of 1939 imposed autocarro in place of camion.[2] The Royal Academy's list of foreign words in 1942 nonetheless judged that the word could stay, stressed càmion and invariable in the plural, since autocarro was common only in military use.[2]

Timeline

  • 1352 – French chamion “cart” is recorded.[2][6]
  • 1875 – Lessona records camione, a small two-wheeled cart.[2][6]
  • 1908 – Panzini records camion for the motor lorry.[2][4]
  • 1926 – Camionabile is recorded.[2]
  • 1932 – A Fascist order replaces camionabile with camionale.[2]
  • 1939 – An official order imposes autocarro in place of camion.[2]
  • 1942 – Camionetta is recorded.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A lorry or truck, a large motor vehicle for carrying goods: Il camion dei traslochi è arrivato alle otto.[6][8][10][1]
  2. (obsolete) A small two-wheeled cart for carrying earth and loads over short distances.[6][2]

Word family

  • camioncino
  • camionetta
  • camionista
  • camionabile
  • camionale

Usage notes

The plural is usually invariable (i camion); camions and camioni are rarer.[11][7][9] A camion bar is a van or lorry fitted out to sell drinks and snacks.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 702
  4. ^ a b c d Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 215
  5. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  10. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse