cencio

Forms

cencio m (plural cenci)^[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} The explanation Merlo revived, which Nocentini, Prati and the LEI follow: it is inherited from Vulgar Latin *centium, a variant of Latin centō (“patchwork blanket, rag cloth”), the source of centone.^{[2][8][9][10]} Nocentini notes that the palatal outcome of ⟨-tj-⟩ is a frequent variant, and that the closed /e/ is due to the following nasal.^[8] Prati explains forms with ⟨z-⟩ such as Tarantino zinzolo by assimilation.^[9]

Merlo rejected Spitzer's comparison with Old French cince (“rag”), itself of uncertain origin.^[2][11] Lecoy instead looked for one source for the Italian and the Old French words, and found it in Latin cinctium, which glossaries give as equal to mitra (“headband”), better known as semicinctium (“narrow girdle”).^[2] The problems with the stressed vowel in both languages are only partly solved.^[2] Devoto proposed a cross of the Latin word for patchwork with cincinnus (“curl of hair”).^[12]

The Latin noun for patchwork was compared with a Sanskrit word for a patched cloth, but de Vaan thinks the two may well be unrelated.^[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Bono Giamboni's translation of Orosius, before 1292, for a worn piece of cloth.^[2][7] Giamboni tells how, with long lances, soldiers threw cenci accesi di fuoco (“rags set on fire”) onto the enemy's beasts.^[14]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already had idioms built on the worthless rag: dare fuoco a cencio, to help in the smallest way, and venire del cencio a qualcuno, to feel disgust.^[7] From the 15th century the word also meant a contemptible thing, and the trade in rags gave cenciaiolo (late 15th century) and cenciaio (1797), the rag dealer.^[2]

Tuscany calls the fried strips of sweet pastry made at Carnival cenci, from their likeness to rags, a sense recorded in 1864.^[2][8] Panzini noted in 1931 that other regions call them galani, sfrappole, frappe and other names.^[2] Figurative uses for a weak or worn-out person and for a shabby garment are common today, beside the industrial sense of rags used in textile and paper making.^[3][4][15]

Timeline

• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses cenci in his translation of Orosius.^[2][7]
• 15th century – Giovanni Cavalcanti uses the word for a contemptible thing.^[2]
• Late 15th century – Cenciaiolo appears in the Carnival songs.^[2]
• Before 1566 – Annibal Caro uses cencioso “ragged”.^[2]
• 1797 – Cenciaio “rag dealer” is recorded.^[2]
• 1830 – Cenciata is first recorded.^[8]
• 1855 – Cenciume “heap of rags” is recorded.^[2]
• 1864 – Cenci is recorded for the Carnival pastries.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A rag: a piece of worn cloth, especially one used for cleaning: prendi un cencio e asciuga il pavimento.^[3][4][5][6]
2. (chiefly plural) Scraps and remnants of cloth collected for the textile and paper industries.^[3][5][15]
3. A ragged, worn-out garment: un mendicante in cenci.^[3][4][5]
4. (figurative) A person worn out in body or mind: la febbre lo ha lasciato un cencio.^[3][4][6]
5. (Tuscany, chiefly plural) Carnival fritters of thin sweet dough cut into strips and fried.^[3][4][5][1]
6. (medicine) In cencio necrotico, the dead core of a boil.^[3][4][5]

Word family

• cenciaio
• cenciaiolo
• cenciata
• cencioso
• cenciume
• cencino
• cencetto
• cenciame

Related words

• centone
• Latin cento

Usage notes

Common set phrases are bianco come un cencio (lavato), “as white as a sheet”, and cappello a cencio, a soft felt hat.^[4][6][16] The proverb cencio dice male di straccio is said of someone who finds in others the faults he has himself.^[4][16]

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 l m n o p 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 d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
8. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 264
10. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 13, 868
11. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
12. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
13. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
14. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
15. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
16. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana