civaia

Forms

civaia f (plural civaie)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin cibāria (“food, provisions”), the neuter plural of cibārius (“of food”), from cibus (“food”).^[2][3][4][5] The plural was taken as a feminine singular, and the ending ⟨-aria⟩ became ⟨-aia⟩, as is regular in Tuscan.^[3][6]

The plural also survives in Spanish cibera (“grain”) and in the Engadine tschivera, the food taken up to the herdsman on the alpine pasture.^[3][7][5] The learned counterpart in Italian is cibarie.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Anonimo Genovese, before 1311, with the form civâ and the sense “dried edible legume”.^[8] In Tuscan, Boccaccio uses civaie in the Ameto of 1341–42.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Antonio Pucci, who died in 1388, lists fave con ceci e ogni altra civaia “broad beans with chickpeas and every other pulse”.^[9] Because votes were once cast with beans, the word also meant a vote, in Bernardo Giambullari (before 1529) and Benedetto Varchi.^[5][9] Anton Maria Salvini used civaiata in 1728 for a sacred mixture of pulses offered to the gods by the Greeks, and civaiolo, a seller of pulses, is recorded in Tommaseo's dictionary in 1865.^[5][3]

The word is now Tuscan and rare, used mostly in the plural.^[10][4]

Timeline

• Before 1311 – The Anonimo Genovese has civâ.^[8]
• 1341–1342 – Boccaccio uses civaie in the Ameto.^[5]
• Before 1388 – Antonio Pucci uses the singular civaia.^[5]
• Before 1529 – Bernardo Giambullari uses civaia for a vote.^[5]
• 1728 – Salvini uses civaiata.^[5]
• 1865 – Civaiolo is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Tuscan, chiefly in the plural) pulse: legumes and their dried edible seeds, such as beans, chickpeas and lentils, also as an adjective in lenticchia civaia, the edible lentil.^{[4][10][11][12][1]}
2. (obsolete) A vote, once cast with a dried bean.^[4][11][13]

Word family

• civaiolo

Related words

• cibo
• cibarie
• Latin cibāria

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ 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. 14, 34
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
9. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
10. ^ a b 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 Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli