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colla

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word colla

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1288 Florentine register of Santa Maria a Cafaggio More words from the 13th century
Inherited from
Latin *colla
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek κόλλα
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek κόλλα (kólla)
Spanish cola
Italian colla

Pronunciation

Forms

colla f (plural colle)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *colla, from Ancient Greek κόλλα (kólla, “glue”).[2][3][4][1] The LEI takes the spoken Latin word to be a back-formation from Latin compounds borrowed from Greek, such as Latin chrysocolla, ichthyocolla (“isinglass”) and sarcocolla;[5] Wartburg thought it an old loan, since it also lives on in Berber.[5] The Greek word is of uncertain origin;[2][3] Nocentini compares Russian and Lithuanian words for glue.[2][3]

The same word is French colle, Occitan cola, Catalan cola, Spanish cola and Portuguese cola, and Friulian còle and Romansh colla.[3][6][5] DEI, however, finds it neither in Spanish nor in Romanian.[7] Italian collage, collagene and collant are modern borrowings of French derivatives.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in a Florentine register of 1288, which mentions a cheese bought for making glue (uno chascio per fare colla): glue was then made from the casein of cheese, water and lime, as well as from boiled animal waste.[8][5] DELI's first example is a sermon of Giordano da Pisa of 1304, telling of an earth overseas so sticky that nothing can part it once it has stuck.[2][9]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already distinguished the colla di formaggio, made from cheese, and colla di pesce, isinglass from the swim bladders of fish, now used in cooking and pharmacy.[8][10] Cennino Cennini describes a paste glue for bookbinders around 1400, and Burchiello compares a heavy wine to glue.[5][9]

By extension colla is any sticky mass, such as overcooked pasta (andare in colla), and attaccarsi come la colla is said of a person who will not leave someone alone.[4][11] Synthetic glues have joined the animal and vegetable ones.[4][12] Italian passed the word to Ottoman Turkish, whence Turkish kola.[1]

Timeline

  • 1288 – A Florentine register buys cheese per fare colla.[8][5]
  • 1304 – Giordano da Pisa uses the word in a sermon.[2]
  • c. 1400 – Cennino Cennini describes glue made from paste.[5]
  • 1733 – The derivative colloso is recorded.[2]
  • 1913 – Collagene is recorded, after French collagène.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. glue: an adhesive of animal, vegetable or synthetic origin; also size, used as a binder for paper and paints: Ho riparato la sedia con un po' di colla.[4][13][1]
  2. (figurative) A sticky, gluey mass: Il riso è diventato una colla.[4][14]
  3. colla di pesce: isinglass, a gelatine from the swim bladders of fish, used in cooking and to clarify wine.[14][10]

Word family

  • colloso
  • collosità
  • collante
  • incollare
  • incollatura
  • scollare
  • scollamento
  • collagene
  • ittiocolla
  • Ancient Greek κόλλα (kólla)
  • French colle

Usage notes

A separate, archaic colla, derived from collare “to hoist with a rope”, was the rope used to torture prisoners by lifting them from the ground, and the torture itself; it also named a rope for lowering sails.[4][14][11] Boccaccio writes of a judge who had a man legare alla colla to make him confess.[9][10] Zaccaria derived this word from Old High German, but GRADIT and the GDLI take it from collare.[15][4][9]

The dated contraction colla of con and la (“with the”), as in Dino Compagni's colla brigata, is used in speech but rare in writing; it has a closed o, while the glue has an open one.[4][16][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 15, 727
  6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1010
  8. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  9. ^ a b c d 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 Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
  13. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  14. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  15. ^ Zaccaria, Enrico (1901), L'elemento germanico nella lingua italiana: lessico con appendice e prospetto cronologico, Bologna: Treves
  16. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Colla.” Etymologically, 10 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/colla. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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