cotica

Forms

cotica f (plural cotiche)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *cutica, a derivative of Latin cutis (“skin”).^[2][3][4][1] DEI takes it from Late Latin cutica, used in the Latin Oribasius for the peel of a fruit.^[5] The GDLI suggests that this form may have been drawn from the diminutive cuticula, which is recorded early.^[6]

The word lives on in the dialects of the south and the north, as in Milanese codega and Bolognese codga, and DEI notes forms in French and Spanish dialects too.^[5][7] Prati thought that the Italian word itself may come from these northern forms.^[7]

De Vaan derives cutis from Proto-Italic *kuti-, from a Proto-Indo-European word for skin or hide, which also gave Old English hȳd and Old High German hūt. Ancient Greek σκῦτος (skûtos, “leather”) has the same root with an initial s-.^[8] Wiktionary connects it with Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Storie de Troia e de Roma, written in Rome in 1252–1258.^[9] In Old Italian the word meant the scalp, the skin of the human body, the hide of horses, pork rind and a flake of skin.^[9] DELI dates the sense of human skin to the 14th century, as cutica in a Bible translation and as cotica in the Urbano.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The sense now most common, the rind of pork, is first recorded before 1577 in Mattioli.^[2] Before 1597 Soderini applied the word to the top layer of a meadow, the grass with its roots and the soil caught in them: nella cotica della terra sguazza il ginepro (“the juniper thrives in the turf of the ground”).^[2][10] The human skin became a joking use.^[4][11]

cotechino, a pork sausage made with rind, came from the north, where Milanese has codeghin and Parma codghen.^[2] It is cotichino in 1761 and cotechino in 1772, and Nocentini finds the adjective in salame cotichino in 1712.^[2][3] Devoto–Oli labels cotica itself as Tuscan.^[12]

Timeline

• 1252–1258 – The Storie de Troia e de Roma (Rome) contain the first record.^[9]
• Before 1313 – cuticagna “nape of the neck” is first recorded.^[3]
• 14th century – Cutica and cotica are used for human skin.^[2]
• Before 1577 – Mattioli uses cotica for pork rind.^[2]
• Before 1597 – Soderini uses it for the grassy top layer of the soil.^[2]
• 1712 – Salame cotichino is recorded.^[3]
• 1772 – Cotechino appears in this form.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (regional) The rind of pork, the thick skin of the pig, cooked with beans or in soups.^{[4][12][13][14][1]}
2. (jocular) Human skin.^[4][11]
3. (agriculture) The top layer of a meadow, the grass with its tangled roots and the soil held in them: cotica erbosa “turf”.^{[4][12][13][14][1]}

Word family

• cotechino
• cuticagna
• scoticare
• coticuto

Related words

• scoticamento
• cute
• Latin cutis

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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1137
6. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 341
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
12. ^ 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
13. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)