cartone

Forms

cartone m (plural cartoni)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian carta (“paper”) + -one, an augmentative: a large, heavy paper.^{[2][3][4][1][5]} That noun is from Latin charta, from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs, “sheet of papyrus”).^[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Ariosto in 1508, for stiff, thick paper.^[2][4] The GDLI quotes him on padding: Con cartoni o feltri si dilatano; e fan larghe le spalle come vogliono (“With pasteboard or felt they swell themselves out and make their shoulders as broad as they like”).^[6]

Semantic evolution

Before 1556 Aretino uses the word for an artist's preparatory drawing on heavy paper, for paintings, mosaics and tapestries.^[2] Vasari describes a model of a crucifix from which copies were cast in pasteboard.^[6] The sense “large cardboard box for packing” is recorded only in 1970.^[2] Recent senses are a slang word for a punch and the paper-like pulp of chewed wood and saliva with which some insects build their nests.^[4][7][6]

In cartone animato the word is a calque of the English animated cartoon.^[7][5] The English cartoon had itself come from French or from Italian: first, in the 1670s, a drawing on strong paper used as a model, and by 1843 a drawing in a newspaper.^[8][9] French carton is recorded from about 1500 and gave English carton (1816).^[9][8] German Karton comes from the French word.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1500 – French carton is recorded.^[9]
• 1508 – Ariosto uses cartone for thick paper.^[2][4]
• Before 1556 – Aretino uses it for an artist's preparatory drawing.^[2]
• 1641 – French carton takes the sense of a preparatory drawing.^[9]
• 1670s – English cartoon appears for a drawing on strong paper.^[8]
• 1816 – English carton “pasteboard” is recorded.^[8]
• 1970 – The sense “cardboard box” is recorded in Zingarelli.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. cardboard, pasteboard; a sheet of it: una valigia di cartone.^[4][7][1]
2. A cardboard box, carton; the quantity it holds: un cartone di succhi di frutta.^[4][7][1]
3. A folder for drawings or papers.^[4]
4. (art) A cartoon: a full-size preparatory drawing for a fresco, tapestry, mosaic or stained glass, sometimes traced onto the surface.^[4][7][1]
5. A design to be reproduced on fabric.^[4][7]
6. An animated cartoon, short for cartone animato: Il sabato mattina i bambini guardano i cartoni.^[4][7][1]
7. (zoology) The pulp of chewed wood and saliva with which some insects build their nests.^[4][7]
8. (slang) A punch.^[4][6]

Word family

• cartone animato
• cartoncino
• cartonare
• cartongesso
• cartonista
• cartonificio
• cartoniera
• incartonare

Related words

• carta
• French carton
• English cartoon

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 2, 819
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c d e Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it