canile

Forms

canile m (plural canili)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *canīle (“dog kennel”), the noun use of an adjective *canīlis (“of the dog”), from Latin canis (“dog”).^[2][3][4][1] The same word is French chenil, recorded from 1387.^[2][5] GRADIT, Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti treat it instead as an Italian derivative, from Italian cane + -ile, and Prati compares pecorile.^[6][7][5] The form Piedmontese cenìl is a loan from French.^[3][2]

Latin glosses record a noun of the same form for a bread of poor quality, and the neuter plural Vulgar Latin *canīlia lives on in the south as Neapolitan caniglia (“bran”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, in the 15th-century Novella del Grasso legnaiuolo, has the figurative sense “miserable bed”: a friend lends the Grasso una prodicella d'un suo canile, a corner of his wretched bed.^[8][9] Zingarelli dates it to about 1490, while the LEI places the text in the 16th century.^[10][2]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century Berni sees a little bed, anzi un canile (“or rather a kennel”), and the figurative sense of a dirty room or bed has lasted.^[9][11][6] The literal sense, a dog's kennel, a place where dogs are kept or bred, is recorded from Florio's dictionary of 1598.^[2] The canile municipale is the shelter for stray dogs.^[9][6] Forteguerri, before 1735, used canil as an adjective, “of dogs”.^[2][9] The word is found in dialects from Piedmont to Sicily, and the compound casa-canile, a small squalid building, is recorded in 1988.^[2]

Timeline

• 15th century – The Novella del Grasso legnaiuolo uses canile for a miserable bed.^[8]
• 1598 – Florio records the sense “dog kennel”.^[2]
• Before 1735 – Forteguerri uses canil as an adjective.^[2]
• 1988 – Casa-canile is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A kennel: a place where dogs are kept, bred or trained;^[6][12][7] canile municipale, the shelter for stray dogs.^[6][12][7]
2. A dog's doghouse, usually of wood, with a bed for the dog.^[6][10][13]
3. (figurative) A squalid, dirty room or dwelling; a wretched bed: Quella stanza è diventata un canile.^[6][12][7]

Adjective

1. (obsolete) Of a dog, canine.^[6][9]

Related words

• cane
• canino
• French chenil

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 10, 835
3. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 720
4. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
5. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 222
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 d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ a b Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
10. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana