circello

Forms

circello m (plural circelli)^[1] Old regional forms include Venetian of Dalmatia çerçelli (1326), Aquilan cercelli (about 1362) and Sicilian chirchelli (1354).^[2] The southern dialects still have the word: Neapolitan circelli (16th century) and Sicilian circelli (17th century).^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin circellus (“small ring”), a diminutive of Latin circulus (“circle”), itself from circus (“ring, circle”).^[3][4][5][1] The Latin word is recorded in the sense “small ring”.^[2] The Latin diminutive is formed with the suffix -lus.^[1]

The same word is Romanian cercel (“earring”) (from 1581–82), Old French cercel (“head ornament; ring of a helmet”), French cerceau (“barrel hoop”), Old Spanish cerciello (“necklace”) (1277) and modern Spanish zarcillo (“earring”).^[2][6] DEI adds that the word passed into Modern Greek.^[3]

The word is southern in Italy: DEI and the GDLI call it a southern Italian word, and the LEI's Italo-Romance records come mostly from the Venetian colonies of Dalmatia, the Abruzzi, Campania, Calabria and Sicily.^[3][5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first Italo-Romance record is the plural çerçelli in a Venetian dowry valuation drawn up at Ragusa (Dubrovnik) in 1326, meaning earrings in the shape of small rings, or ring-shaped jewels.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the Old Italian records the word means ring-shaped jewellery, and above all earrings: çi[r]çelli d'oro “gold earrings” appear in a will of 1348, and Sicilian, Abruzzese and Campanian texts of the 14th and 15th centuries have the same sense.^[2] DEI dates it at Teramo in 1440, with the senses “small ornamental ring” and “earring”.^[3]

Literary Italian used it rarely: GRADIT dates it 1584–85, and the GDLI quotes it in a list of things held to be low or coarse.^[4][5] Today it is obsolete in the standard language, while the dialects of the south, from Abruzzo to Sicily, keep it for an earring.^[4][2]

Timeline

• 1326 – Çerçelli “earrings” is recorded in Venetian at Ragusa.^[2]
• 1354 – Sicilian chirchelli is recorded.^[2]
• About 1362 – Aquilan cercelli appears in Buccio di Ranallo.^[2]
• 1440 – Circello is recorded at Teramo.^[3]
• 1556 – Italian circelli d'oro appears in Ramusio's edition of Oviedo.^[2]
• 1584–1585 – GRADIT's first date for the standard word.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (obsolete, regional) A ring or small hoop, especially one worn as an ornament.^[4][5][1]
2. (obsolete, regional) An earring; also a bracelet.^[4][5][1]

Related words

• cerchio
• circolo
• Latin circellus
• Romanian cercel
• French cerceau

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 14, 557
3. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 956
4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
6. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)