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cotenna

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word cotenna

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1268 Andrea da Grosseto More words from the 13th century
Inherited from
Latin *cutinna
Ultimate origin
Latin cutis

Pronunciation

  • /koˈten.na/[1]

Forms

cotenna f (plural cotenne)[1] Old Italian also has codenna and cotena.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *cutinna, a derivative of Latin cutis (“skin”).[3][4][5][6] The same type gave French couenne, first recorded in the 13th century, Occitan codena and Catalan conna.[4][7][8] The ending is not fully explained: Meyer-Lübke and Prati note that neither Italian ⟨-enna⟩ nor French ⟨-enne⟩ has a clear source.[8][9] Körting accepts the base despite doubts, and he and Meyer-Lübke reject Diez's *cutanea.[10][8] Prati derives Neapolitan cotena from a simpler *cutina.[9]

The Latin word goes back to Proto-Italic *kuti- and Proto-Indo-European *kHu-t-i- (“skin, hide”); it matches Old English hȳd and Old High German hūt.[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Andrea da Grosseto in 1268 (Tuscan), for the hard, thick skin of an animal.[2][12] DELI dates the pig's skin to about 1350 in the Italian Crescenzi, who has a piece of pigskin (un pezzuol di cotenna di porco) attached to something.[3][13]

Semantic evolution

By the 14th century the word was also used of human skin, especially of the head, as in Pietro Ispano's Italian version, where mustard seed arde la cotenna “burns the skin”.[3][2][13] In Dante's di colpo di cotenna (Paradise 19) Buti read cotenna as the part for the whole, the pig.[14] Boccaccio uses it for the scalp.[9]

From the 16th century it also meant a surface or outer layer (Bini, before 1556), as in cotenna erbosa “turf”.[3][15] The humorous use for a person's skin produced phrases such as avere la cotenna dura “to be thick-skinned”, mettere su cotenna “to put on weight” and aver cara la cotenna “to value one's own skin”.[15][16] Cotennone “boor” is recorded in the 19th century and cotennoso in 1757.[7][3]

Timeline

  • 1268 – First record, in Andrea da Grosseto.[2][12]
  • About 1350 – The Italian Crescenzi uses it for pigskin.[3]
  • 14th century – Pietro Ispano's Italian version uses it for human skin.[3]
  • 14th century – The verb scotennare “to skin” appears.[4]
  • Before 1556 – G. F. Bini uses it for a surface or outer layer.[3]
  • 1757 – Cotennoso is recorded in G. Targioni Tozzetti.[3]
  • 1909 – Scotennatore is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The thick, tough, bristly skin of the pig, the wild boar and similar animals; rind: fagioli con le cotenne.[5][6][17]
  2. (humorous, derogatory) A person's skin: avere la cotenna dura, to be insensitive.[5][6][15]
  3. (figurative) Outward appearance, semblance.[5][6]
  4. (by extension) A crust, outer layer or surface: cotenna erbosa, turf.[5][6][15]
  5. (humorous) The scalp; the head.[5][16][12]
  6. (obsolete, figurative) A miser.[5][12][16]
  7. (anatomy, medicine) A thick membrane: cotenna pleurica, a thickening of the pleura.[5][12][15]

Word family

  • scotennare
  • cotennoso
  • cotennone
  • cotennina
  • scotennatore
  • scotennatura
  • scotennamento
  • cute
  • cotica
  • Latin cutis
  • French couenne

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1137
  8. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b c Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 340
  10. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  12. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  14. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  15. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
  16. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  17. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Cotenna.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/cotenna. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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