corvo

Forms

corvo m (plural corvi)^[1] The older and Tuscan form corbo is now literary or regional.^[2][3][4] Old forms include Old Italian corb, Old Italian corf, Old Italian cuorvo and Old Italian korbo.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin corvus (“raven”).^[2][6][7][1] The Latin word also named a dark sea fish and a military grappling machine, both still senses of the Italian word.^[8]

It is panromance: Old French corp (modern French corbeau), Occitan corp, Catalan corb, Spanish cuervo, Portuguese corvo, Sardinian cólvu and Romanian corb.^[6][9]

The Latin word comes from Proto-Italic *korwos and Proto-Indo-European *ḱorh₂wós.^[1][10] De Vaan notes that all Indo-European languages have words in ⟨*kr-⟩ for crows and ravens, which are plainly imitative of the bird's call; the suffix is that of the Latin colour adjectives in ⟨-vus⟩, and the formation has no good match outside Italic.^[10] Nocentini, DELI and Devoto likewise give an imitative base, shared with cornīx (“crow”), and compare Ancient Greek κόραξ (kórax) and Old High German hraban, whence German Rabe and English raven.^[6][2][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

G. Guinizelli, before 1276, has the form corbo; the form corvo is first found in Boccaccio in 1352.^[2][7] The TLIO's first record is in the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The raven was a bird of omen in Old Italian, a carrion-eater, an image of the devil, and the bird Noah sent out from the ark;^[5] nero come il corvo was already proverbial.^[5] Petrarch asks Qual destro corvo o qual manca cornice / canti 'l mio fato?, what raven on the right or crow on the left sings my fate.^[12][13] Old Italian also named the constellation Corvus.^[5]

The fish, the brown corvina, has the name for its dark colour (1561, Citolini), and the ancient siege and naval grappling machine (1550, C. Bartoli) probably for a hook like a raven's beak.^[2]

In modern Italian the bird stands for misfortune: a corvo del malaugurio is a prophet of doom or a jinx.^[7][3] Journalists call the writer of anonymous letters a corvo.^[7][12] Jokingly or with contempt it can also mean a priest.^[7]

Timeline

• Before 1276 – G. Guinizelli uses corbo.^[2][6]
• 1352 – Boccaccio uses corvo.^[2][7]
• 1550 – C. Bartoli uses it for a war machine with a hook.^[2]
• 1561 – A. Citolini uses it for a fish.^[2]
• 1663 – The adjective corvino “raven-black” is recorded (Oudin).^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. raven, crow, rook: a large black bird of the crow family with a harsh call;^[7][3][1] corvo imperiale, the common raven: Un corvo gracchiava sul campanile.^[7][3][1]
2. (zoology) The genus Corvus.^[7][3]
3. (figurative) A bird of ill omen, a jinx: corvo del malaugurio.^[7][3][14]
4. (journalism) The anonymous author of poison-pen letters.^[7][3][14]
5. (derogatory, humorous) A priest.^[7]
6. (history) The ancient corvus, a hooked boarding device of warships, also a siege engine.^[7][3][15]
7. (astronomy) The constellation Corvus.^[4][15]
8. (zoology) The brown corvina, a sea fish.^[7][4][14]

Word family

• corvaccio
• corvetto
• corvide

Related words

• corvino
• cornacchia
• Latin corvus

Usage notes

Corvo (invariable) is also the name of white and red Sicilian wines from the Corvo estate at Casteldaccia, near Palermo, recorded from 1890.^[7][15] Corvo marino and corvo di notte are regional names of the glossy ibis and the night heron.^[15][14]

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 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 g h 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 Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ a b c d 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 l m n o De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1128
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ 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
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b 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 Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
15. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)