cascare

Forms

cascare (first-person singular present càsco, first-person singular past historic cascài, past participle cascàto, auxiliary èssere)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *casicāre (“to fall”), formed on Latin cāsus (“a fall”), from cadō (“to fall”).^{[2][3][4][1][5]} The GDLI gives the suffix a frequentative value, and Devoto calls the word a doubly intensive derivative of the Latin verb.^[6][7] For the formation DEI compares cassitāre, in the Digest of Paulus, and Plautus's cassāre.^[8][9]

The word belongs to central and northern Italy and, as the LEI notes, survives only in Italo-Romance.^[2][8][10] Körting at one point listed it under *quassicāre (“to break”), but thought the form above the better base.^[9] Spanish cascar (“to crack”), which the GDLI compares, belongs to that other family.^[9][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Monte Andrea, in the 13th century, with the sense “fall, especially suddenly”.^[2] The TLIO's first text is the 13th-century Tuscan Bestiario moralizzato, and the LEI cites Rustico Filippi in the second half of the century for falling off a horse.^[11][10]

Semantic evolution

Dante uses the verb several times in the Inferno, as in “questa roccia non era ancor cascata” (this rock had not yet fallen).^[6] Old Italian also used it for fainting and dying, for coming loose, and for coming to an end.^[11] Tommaseo noted that it points more directly than cadere to the place a thing falls from or onto, and often means a heavier fall.^[12] The LEI lists the verb in the Ligurian, Piedmontese, Lombard and other dialects.^[10]

Many idioms grew around it: cascare dal sonno (to be dropping with sleep), qui casca l'asino (here is the real difficulty) and cascarci (to fall for a trick).^[4][13][14] Cascare dalle nuvole “to be astonished” is a calque of French tomber des nues.^[10] Cascamorto, a swooning lover, is recorded in 1716.^[2]

Cascata “waterfall”, recorded before 1597, spread across Europe with Renaissance culture: French cascade (1640), German Kaskade (17th century) and Spanish cascada (1729).^[2][10] French also took casquer from the verb in 1836.^[8]

Timeline

• 1200s – Monte Andrea uses the verb.^[2]
• Late 1200s – Rustico Filippi uses it for falling off a horse.^[10]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it in the Inferno.^[6]
• Before 1597 – Cascata is recorded for a waterfall.^[2]
• 1640 – French cascade is recorded.^[10]
• 1716 – Cascamorto is recorded.^[2]
• 1836 – French casquer is recorded.^[8]
• 1970 – Cascatore, a film stunt double, is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive, colloquial) To fall, especially suddenly: Il bicchiere è cascato dal tavolo.^[4][5][13]
2. (intransitive) To fall over, losing one's balance: Sono cascato mentre correvo sul ghiaccio.^[4][15]
3. (intransitive) Of leaves or fruit, to drop off.^[4]
4. (intransitive) To collapse.^[4]
5. (intransitive) Of hair or cloth, to hang down.^[4]
6. (intransitive) To turn up, happen to come: cascare bene, cascare male.^[4][13][14]
7. (cascarci) To fall for a trick.^[5][13][14]

Word family

• cascata
• cascame
• cascamorto
• cascante
• cascatore
• cascaggine
• cascola
• ricascare
• cascarci

Related words

• cadere
• caso
• Latin cadō

Usage notes

Cascare is a more familiar and expressive synonym of cadere.^[5][16] Common phrases are cascare dalle nuvole (to be astonished), cascare in piedi (to land on one's feet) and nemmeno se cascasse il mondo (not for anything in the world).^[13][14]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: 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
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 790
9. ^ a b c Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
10. ^ a b c d e f g Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 12, 1076
11. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
16. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)