entragno

Forms

entragno m (plural entragni m or entragna f)^[1] The plural is entragni, or the feminine entragna and entragne; the feminine singular entragna is also used.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin interāneum (“intestine”), the noun use of the adjective interāneus (“internal”), from inter (“between, within”).^{[5][6][7][3][1]} The feminine entragna continues the Latin neuter plural ⟨interānea⟩.^[4][7] Nocentini derives it instead from Late Latin intrāneus, formed on intrā (“inside”) after the model of extrāneus (“foreign”).^[8] Gabrielli takes it from Spanish entraña.^[9]

The same word is Old French entraigne, Catalan entranya and Portuguese entranha, as well as the Spanish word, mostly in the plural.^[8][10][2] French entrailles and Old Occitan intralias come instead from Latin interālia.^[10] DEI also notes a Greek model and Late Latin enterione of Theodorus Priscianus, the inner part of a plant.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini dates the word to 1543, in the sense “entrails, intestines”;^{[8][6][12][5]} GRADIT and Zingarelli give 1618, and DEI the 17th century.^{[8][6][12][5]} The earliest quotations in the GDLI and Tommaseo are from Buonarroti the Younger's Fiera: volean vederne 'l fondo degli entragni (“they wanted to see the bottom of their entrails”), of chickens and pigeons.^[13][14]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense “heart, soul, inner disposition” is also from the 17th century, in phrases such as aver buono or cattivo entragno (to be good- or ill-natured).^[5][7][3] Translators of the classics such as Salvini and Monti, and later Leopardi and Carducci, used it for the entrails of sacrificed or slaughtered animals.^[13] Today it is archaic, literary or regional.^[6][3] DEI notes southern forms such as Calabrian ntragni.^[11]

Timeline

• 1543 – First record.^[8]
• 1618 – First record according to GRADIT and Zingarelli.^[6][12]
• 1600s – The figurative sense “heart, disposition” appears.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (archaic, literary, regional; usually plural) The entrails, the bowels, especially of animals.^[6][7][4][3]
2. (figurative) Heart, disposition: aver buono entragno, to be good-natured.^[6][7][3]

Related words

• interiora
• intestino
• estraneo
• Latin interāneus

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
3. ^ a b c d e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
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 Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
6. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
10. ^ a b Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
11. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1488
12. ^ a b c 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, p. 5, 170
14. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET