capecchio

Forms

capecchio m (plural capecchi)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin capĭtŭlum (“small head; top of a tree”), the diminutive of caput (“head”), in the sense “top of a plant”, recorded from Cato on.^[2][3][4] The sense passed from the tops of the plants to what is trimmed off them, and then to the coarse waste left by the first combing of flax and hemp.^[3] The word went through a Vulgar Latin *capiclum, with the syncope of ⟨-ĭtulum⟩ to ⟨-iclum⟩ that made it fall together with words in ⟨-iculum⟩.^[5][1][4] The LEI explains the variation between the endings ⟨-ecchio⟩ and ⟨-icchio⟩ in the Italian and dialect outcomes by the variation between ⟨-ĭcula⟩ and ⟨-īcula⟩ in Late Latin.^[4]

The Latin word also survives as Occitan cabelh (“ear of grain”) in Gascon, and in the south of Italy and in Sardinia with the sense “nipple”, as in Sardinian cabiju.^[6][4][7] Its learned doublet is capitolo, like French chapitre.^[1][6]

The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Italic *kaput and Proto-Indo-European *káput, and is related to Old English hēafod.^[1][8] De Vaan suggests that it may have been formed from the root of capiō (“to seize”), with a substratum word for “cup” that became “head”.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Sienese statutes of 1301–1303, where the word names the coarse fibre obtained by combing flax and hemp.^[9][10] DELI's first dated author is Boccaccio in 1353, and the Decameron tells of bales that, once untied, were found piene… di capecchio (“full of tow”).^[2][11]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the word appears in Sienese, Pisan and Florentine texts, including Sacchetti's La battaglia (1353) with the spelling capechio and Fazio degli Uberti's Dittamondo.^[9][4] The Italian translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi (about 1350) describes how, when flax is dried and broken, quello che poi si dice capecchio, va via (“what is then called tow comes away”).^[4][12] Because it caught fire easily, Pucci used parer di capecchio of things that burn quickly (before 1388), and Pulci has un pulcin fra 'l capecchio for someone helpless and awkward (1483).^[4][11]

The tow was used to stuff mattresses and armchairs.^[12][13] From its rough look came the literary use for unkempt hair and beards, from C. Gozzi in 1772, as in Giusti's baffi di capecchio.^[4][13] Since 1865 the word has also named the smoke tree, scotano, whose ripe flower heads look like a tangle of bristly threads.^[4][11][13] Tuscan proverbs used it too: quando marzo va a secco, il grano fa cesto e il lin capecchio, a dry March being good for wheat and bad for flax.^[4][12]

Timeline

• 1301–1303 – The Sienese statutes have the first record.^[9]
• About 1350 – The Italian translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi uses it.^[4]
• 1353 – Boccaccio and Sacchetti use it.^[2][9]
• Before 1388 – Pucci has parer di capecchio for what burns easily.^[4]
• 1483 – Pulci has un pulcin fra 'l capecchio.^[4]
• 1598 – Florio records the form capeccio.^[4]
• 1772 – C. Gozzi uses it of unkempt beard and hair.^[4]
• 1838 – The verb scapecchiare is recorded.^[3]
• 1865 – The Tommaseo dictionary records it as a name of the smoke tree.^[4][12]

Meanings

Noun

1. (textiles) tow: the coarse, rough fibre left by the first combing of flax and hemp, used for stuffing: Il vecchio divano era imbottito di capecchio.^{[14][15][10][13]}
2. (figurative, literary) Bristly, unkempt hair or beard.^[14][15][16]
3. (botany) The smoke tree, scotano, named after its feathery ripe flower heads.^{[14][15][10][13]}

Word family

• scapecchiare

Related words

• capitolo
• capo
• Latin capitulum

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 11, 183
5. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 732
8. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
12. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ 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)
14. ^ a b c De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
15. ^ 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
16. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli