doccione

Forms

doccione m (plural doccioni)^[1] The first record has the form Old Italian doccone.^[2]

Etymology

It is probably inherited from Latin ductiō (“conveying, conduit”), from the accusative ⟨ductiōnem⟩, which Vitruvius uses of water conduits.^{[3][4][5][6][7][1]} The Latin noun is formed from dūcō (“to lead”) with the suffix -tiō, and was used mostly in the plural, in the phrase aquārum ductiōnēs (“aqueduct”).^[3][8][1] Italian took the feminine Latin noun as a masculine and then as an augmentative in -one;^[3][9] Nocentini and REW think doccio and doccia were taken back from it.^[3][9] DELI is less sure: the whole family is connected, but it is unclear whether it starts from ⟨ductiōnem⟩ or from Vulgar Latin *dūcea, the source of the shorter noun.^[7]

Others see a crossing.^[10][11] Devoto thought of the Latin word mixed with Vulgar Latin *aquiducium and an augmentative suffix.^[10] The GDLI connects it with acquidoccio and that Vulgar Latin form.^[11] DEI calls the origin uncertain: the Italian word might be a hypercorrect adaptation of a northern ⟨dozon⟩.^[12] Treccani and the TLIO simply treat it as formed from the shorter noun.^[13][2] Zingarelli and Gabrielli also leave it open.^[14][15]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a Prato document of 1275, Queste sono le spese del doccone (“these are the expenses for the drainpipe”), in the sense of a pipe that carries off the rainwater from the gutter.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century the word named pipes and conduits in general: the Tuscan translation of Palladius has wine run out through doccioni, and the translation of Crescenzi recommends doccioni di terra cotta for carrying water.^[11][2][7] DELI's sense is a short, thick section of pipe made to fit into the next one for a tight joint.^[7] Sacchetti used the word ironically for the gorget of armour, and for a tube to blow on a fire.^[2]

In the 18th century it was also a figure of speech for an idler or a lovesick suitor.^[12] The sense of the carved spout at the end of a gutter on old buildings, often shaped as a grotesque figure or animal, is recorded from Pascoli, before 1912.^[7] On modern buildings it is the downpipe from the gutter to the ground, and in mountaineering a steep gully.^[4][5][6]

Timeline

• 1275 – A Prato document records doccone, a drainpipe.^[2]
• c. 1340 – The Tuscan translation of Palladius uses doccioni for conduits.^[7][2]
• 1348–1350 – A Florentine document lists doccioni among building expenses.^[2]
• 18th century – Figurative use for an idler or suitor.^[12]
• Before 1912 – Pascoli uses it for the carved spout of a gutter.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (architecture) On old buildings, the end of a gutter that throws rainwater clear of the wall, often carved as a grotesque figure; a gargoyle: Dai doccioni della cattedrale scrosciava la pioggia.^{[4][5][6][14][1]}
2. On modern buildings, the downpipe that carries water from the gutter to the ground.^[4][6][13]
3. (chiefly Tuscan) A large pipe or section of pipe for water or other liquids.^{[4][5][6][13]}
4. (mountaineering) A steep gully, a colatoio.^{[5][6][14][4]}

Word family

• doccionata

Related words

• doccia
• doccio
• acquidoccio
• condotto
• Latin ductiō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
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 f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 4, 892
12. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1370
13. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli