cetriolo

Forms

cetriolo m (plural cetrioli)^[1] Old forms in the texts to 1375 include cedriuoli, cedruoli, cetriuoli, cetruoli, cidruole and citruli.^[2] Later old or regional forms are cetriuolo, cedriolo, citriolo and cidriolo.^[3][4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *citriŏlum, a diminutive formed in place of classical Latin citrium “cucumber”, from citrus (“citron”).^[6][7][8][3] The vegetable was named for its colour, which recalls the citron's: DELI speaks of the colour of the citron, Nocentini of the yellow-green of the fruit.^[6][7][9] The same Vulgar Latin word gave citrullo, a doublet.^[7][1] French citrouille “pumpkin” is an adaptation of the Italian word.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Neapolitan Regimen Sanitatis of the 13th century, where the word names the vegetable eaten as food.^[2] DELI dates cetriuoli to 1310, Boccaccio's cedriuolo to 1353, Machiavelli's citriuolo to before 1527 and the modern cetriolo to before 1597, in Giovanni Soderini.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The old texts list the cucumber with melons and watermelons: Boccaccio has “the yellow melons, with the round watermelons, with the rough cucumbers” (I gialli poponi, co' ritondi cocomeri, con li scrupulosi cedriuoli).^[5] Machiavelli compared a sorry donkey to an August cucumber (un citriuol d'agosto).^[5]

The figurative sense of a dull, clumsy person was current in the 16th century: Varchi asks whether one does not call a man with little sense a cetriuolo.^[4] The same idea is in citrullo.^[4][8] Verga used un bel cetriolo for a strapping young man.^[3] Cetriolo di mare is the sea cucumber, and latte di cetriolo a cleansing lotion made from an infusion of small cucumbers.^[10][3]

Timeline

• 13th century – The Neapolitan Regimen Sanitatis has the word.^[2]
• 1310 – The form cetriuoli is recorded.^[6]
• 1353 – Boccaccio writes cedriuolo.^[6]
• Before 1527 – Machiavelli writes citriuolo.^[6]
• Before 1597 – Giovanni Soderini has the modern form cetriolo.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. cucumber: the long fruit with green skin and white, fleshy pulp, eaten fresh or pickled: Ho tagliato due cetrioli per l'insalata.^[8][10][4]
2. (botany) The climbing plant of the gourd family that bears it, Cucumis sativus, with rough leaves and yellow flowers.^[8][10][11]
3. (figurative) A clumsy, foolish person, a citrullo.^[8][10][11]
4. (figurative, literary) A sturdy, handsome young man.^[8][10][3]
5. (zoology) Cetriolo di mare: a sea cucumber, a holothurian.^[10][3][12]

Word family

• cetriolino
• cetriolone

Related words

• citrullo
• cedro
• Latin citrus
• French citrouille

Usage notes

Cetriolino is used especially of the small cucumbers pickled in vinegar.^[4] The augmentative cetriolone is also used of a dull person who is big and well built.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3, 22
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
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 Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
12. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana