chiodo

Forms

chiodo m (plural chiodi)^[1] The old form is Old Italian chiovo, still used in the south and in some regions; the TLIO also records Old Italian chioldo and Old Italian chiavo.^[2][3][4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin clāvus (“nail”), with Latin ⟨-av-⟩ becoming /ɔ/ and a consonant inserted to fill the hiatus.^[2][6][7][1] With /v/ this gave the old form Old Italian chiovo;^[2][6] DELI explains the later form with /d/ as shaped by chiudere “to close”, while Nocentini sees in /d/ and /v/ two consonants inserted in the same hiatus.^[2][6] DEI allows both explanations and cites Late Latin claus from inscriptions.^[8] Prati and Devoto start from *claudus, a blend of the Latin noun with claudō (“to close”), and the LEI posits such a base for northern Italy, supported by Friulian clàut and by medieval forms such as chioldo with a hypercorrect ⟨l⟩.^[9][10][5] Medieval Latin had clodus, recorded at Bologna in 1248.^[2][8]

The same word is French clou, Occitan clau and Catalan clau;^[6][5] Nocentini takes Spanish clavo and Portuguese cravo as learned forms.^[6][5] De Vaan derives the Latin noun from the same base as clāvis (“key”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u- (“to close”);^[11][6][1] Nocentini adds that the earliest key was a peg or nail put through a ring.^[11][6][1] DELI and Devoto instead think of a root meaning “to strike”, which Devoto connects with clāva (“club”).^[2][10]

The name of the clove, chiodo di garofano, is a calque on French clou de girofle, named for the nail-like shape.^[2][12][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Medieval Latin clodus appears at Bologna in 1248.^[2] The first Italian record in DELI is chiovo in B. Giamboni (before 1292), for a pointed metal pin with a head driven in to join two parts; the TLIO's first text is by Bonvesin de la Riva of Milan.^[2][4] The form chiodo is recorded from 1527, in P. Aretino.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already had many phrases with the word: a chiodo fermo “without doubt”, mettere il chiodo a qualcosa “to settle something for good”, and rintuzzare chiodo con chiodo “to replace one thing with another”.^[4] Figurative senses followed: a torment or worry (Ariosto, 1532), a sharp stabbing pain (1778), the piton of mountaineers (before 1873).^[2] Tommaseo describes chiodo as the Tuscan name for a pain that pierces the head above the eyes.^[13]

The sense “debt” is recorded from 1855 and its origin is unclear.^[2] DEI linked it with the Roman custom of driving a nail into the wall of Jupiter's temple each year, which DELI finds unconvincing;^[2][6][8] Nocentini and DELI point to proverbs about paying one debt with another, such as cavar un chiodo e ficcar una cavicchia, in Serdonati (before 1602).^[2][6][8] For roba da chiodi, “outrageous stuff”, DELI prefers the explanation that nails were made of the poorest iron.^[2] In recent use chiodo is also a short studded leather jacket, and chiodino (1929) a small edible mushroom named for its shape.^[7][14][2]

Timeline

• 1248 – Medieval Latin clodus is recorded at Bologna.^[2]
• Before 1292 – B. Giamboni uses chiovo.^[2]
• About 1350 – Chiovatura, a set of nails, appears in the Italian Crescenzi.^[2]
• 1527 – P. Aretino uses the form chiodo.^[2]
• 1532 – L. Ariosto uses it for a torment, and chiodare “to nail”.^[2]
• 1778 – The sense “sharp pain” is recorded.^[2]
• 1855 – Fanfani records the sense “debt”.^[2]
• Before 1873 – F. D. Guerrazzi uses it for a mountaineer's piton.^[2]
• 1929 – Chiodino names a small mushroom.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A nail: a thin metal rod pointed at one end with a head at the other: piantare un chiodo nella trave.^[7][3][1]
2. A stud or spike fitted to tyres or soles for grip; a hobnail.^[7][15][1]
3. (mountaineering) A piton driven into rock or ice: chiodo da roccia.^[15][2]
4. (medicine) A steel pin used in orthopaedics to hold bone fragments together.^[7][15]
5. (figurative) A very thin person: magro come un chiodo.^[7][3]
6. (figurative, jocular) A very slow vehicle.^[7]
7. (figurative) A sharp pain, a stab; a nagging thought or worry: chiodo fisso, an obsession.^[7][2][14]
8. A short studded leather jacket.^[7][14]
9. (colloquial) A debt.^[7][2][14]

Word family

• chiodare
• chiodato
• chiodatura
• chiodino
• inchiodare
• schiodare
• chiodaio
• chiodame
• chiodatrice
• chioderia
• chiovolo
• schiodatura

Related words

• chiave
• chiudere
• Latin clāvus
• French clou

Usage notes

Common phrases are chiodo di garofano (clove), chiodo scaccia chiodo (one worry or debt drives out another), battere sullo stesso chiodo (to keep harping on the same thing), attaccare al chiodo (to give something up) and roba da chiodi (outrageous).^[7][3][16] Chiodo is also the first person singular of chiodare.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 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 Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
5. ^ a b c d e Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 14, 1479
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 905
9. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 279
10. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
13. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ a b c d e Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
15. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
16. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana