cero

Forms

cero m (plural ceri)^[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from Old Italian cerio: the plural cerii was reduced to ceri, and a new singular was made from it.^[2][3][4] Cerio is from Latin cēreus (“wax taper”), the noun use of the adjective “of wax”, from cēra (“wax”).^[5][6][7][1] As a noun, cēreus is short for cēreus fūnis (“waxen cord”).^[1] The LEI counts cerio among the half-learned forms in ⟨-io⟩, beside the learned cereo.^[8]

GRADIT, Devoto–Oli and Gabrielli derive the word instead from cera, made masculine with a sense of large size.^[9][10][11] Devoto compares coso beside cosa.^[12] Wiktionary takes it straight from cēreus.^[1]

The Latin noun also gave Old French cierges, Old Occitan cirge, Old Catalan ciri, Old Spanish cirio and Old Friulian çery.^[8] Cēra is akin to Ancient Greek κηρός (kērós, “wax”), and more distantly to Lithuanian korỹs (“honeycomb”).^[13][14]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Sienese accounts of Mattasalà, from 1233–43: Item [spesi] xxxii denari in ceri per sante Marie d'agosto (also [spent] 32 denari on candles for St Mary's in August).^[13][5][4] The sense is a large wax candle offered in church.^[13][5]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the word named any candle of wax used as a votive offering, in processions and ceremonies, or for light.^[5] Cero nuovo was the Paschal candle, and to divenire cero was to be offered to a saint.^[5] Dante used ceri in the Paradiso for the souls that appear as lights, and other poets spoke of being consumed like a candle in the fire of love.^[5]

The form cerio lived on in northern and central Italy: Pavian cirio (1342), Venetian cirii (1344), Savonese zerio (1473), and cerio in Italian texts from 1556 to 1625.^[8] The French cierge was borrowed for a time as Pisan ciergi (about 1300).^[8]

Cero is now chiefly liturgical, the votive or Paschal candle.^[9][10] By extension it names the tall wooden structures carried in some processions, as in the Festa dei Ceri at Gubbio.^[9][11]

Timeline

• 1233–1243 – Mattasalà records ceri at Siena.^[13][5]
• 1274 – Pavian cirial “of the candle” is recorded.^[8]
• About 1300 – Pisan ciergi is borrowed from French.^[8]
• 1342 – Pavian cirio is recorded.^[8]
• 1467 – Learned cereo is first used for a wax candle.^[8]
• 1550 – Vasari writes of the Paschal candle (cero pasquale in DELI, cereo pasquale in the LEI).^[13][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A large wax candle, especially one used in church: ha portato un cero al santuario.^{[9][10][3][15][1]}
2. (religion) A tall wooden or papier-mâché structure carried on the shoulders in religious processions: la festa dei ceri di Gubbio.^[9][10][11]

Related words

• cera
• cereo
• Latin cēreus
• French cierge

Usage notes

Common phrases are cero votivo, a candle lit to fulfil a vow, and cero pasquale, the Paschal candle blessed on Holy Saturday and lit until Ascension.^[9][10][15] Accendere un cero alla Madonna means to thank heaven for a narrow escape.^[10][15] Dritto come un cero describes a stiff, upright person, and pallido come un cero someone very pale.^[9][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 870
3. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
5. ^ a b c d e f g Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 13, 1105
9. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
12. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 89
13. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
15. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli