ebbro

Forms

ebbro (feminine ebbra, masculine plural ebbri, feminine plural ebbre)^[1] Old Italian has ebro beside ebbro, and ebrio is recorded before 1306 in Iacopone.^[2][3] Ebro survives as a less common variant.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin ēbrius (“drunk”).^[3][6][7][1] DELI and Sabatini–Coletti explain the double ⟨bb⟩ as the normal Tuscan strengthening of ⟨b⟩ before ⟨r⟩, as in fabbro and febbre, and take ebrio, ebro and ebrezza for more Latinate forms.^[3][8] The LEI files the Tuscan word among the inherited forms.^[9] DEI and the GDLI call it semi-learned, and DEI contrasts it with the popular descendants of Latin ēbriācus, the source of ubriaco.^[10][11] Zingarelli calls it learned.^[12]

The Latin word continues in Romansh eiver, French ivre, Old Occitan yvres and Catalan ebri.^[9][6]

The Latin adjective is the opposite of sōbrius (“sober”).^[3][12] Its origin is uncertain for DELI, Nocentini and the OLD.^[3][6][13] De Vaan and Wiktionary derive it from Proto-Italic *ēɣʷrios and the PIE root Proto-Indo-European *h₁egʷʰ- (“to drink”), with the same change of /gʷʰr/ to Latin /br/ as in febris.^[14] De Vaan compares Ancient Greek νήφω (nḗphō, “to be sober”), from a form meaning “not drinking”.^[14][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Andrea da Grosseto's translation of Albertano da Brescia, 1268, with the plural ebbri “drunk men”.^[2][9] The TLIO's first sense is drinking to excess, with confused mind and loss of control.^[2] DELI gives ebrio before 1306 (Iacopone) and ebbro before 1313 (Angiolieri).^[3]

Semantic evolution

Dante already uses it figuratively for “beside oneself”, between 1310 and 1313, and in Old Italian it also meant deeply caught up in a passion.^[3][2] In Inferno 27 the speaker keeps silent because the pope's words “seemed drunken” (parver ebbre).^[5][15]

From the 16th century it is also said of a habitual drinker (1594) and of what shows drunkenness (Vasari, 1550); Ariosto uses it of fruit full of juice.^[9] Modern Italian uses it mostly in a literary or figurative way, for someone carried away by joy, anger or love, while ubriaco is the everyday word.^{[7][8][16][17]}

Timeline

• 1268 – Andrea da Grosseto has the earliest record.^[2][9]
• Before 1306 – Iacopone uses the form ebrio.^[3]
• 1310–1313 – Dante uses it for “beside oneself”.^[3]
• Before 1313 – Angiolieri uses the form ebbro.^[3]
• c. 1370 – Boccaccio uses it in the Decameron.^[9]
• 1550 – Vasari uses it of what shows drunkenness.^[9]
• 1594 – Ammirato uses it of a habitual drinker.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (literary) drunk, intoxicated.^{[7][4][8][12]}
2. (figurative) Beside oneself with a strong feeling or passion; eager for something (with di): Uscì dallo stadio ebbro di vittoria.^{[7][4][8][12]}
3. (figurative, literary) Showing drunkenness or madness; senseless, of words or looks.^[7][4][8][5]

Noun

1. A drunk person.^[7][2]

Word family

• ebbrezza
• ebrietà
• inebriare

Related words

• sbornia
• sobrio
• ubriaco
• Latin ēbrius
• French ivre

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 j 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 Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
6. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ 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. 21, 60
10. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1408
11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5, 4
12. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
14. ^ 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
15. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
16. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
17. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)