ferramenta

Forms

ferramenta f (plural ferramente)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old Italian ferramenta, the old plural of ferramento “iron tool”, which came to be used as a feminine noun with a collective sense.^[2][3][4][5] Nocentini and Devoto–Oli give the source as inherited from Latin ferrāmenta (“iron tools”), the plural of the Latin word for an iron implement, and Wiktionary passes it through Vulgar Latin.^[6][7][1]

The Latin word, recorded from Cato, is formed from ferrum (“iron”) with the suffix -mentum.^[8][1][9] The Latin plural lives on in the same way in Piedmontese framenta, Sardinian ferramenta, Occitan ferramenta, Catalan ferramenta, Spanish herramienta and Portuguese ferramenta, while French ferrement continues the singular.^[10][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The singular ferramento, with ferramenta among its plural forms, is first recorded in a Sienese document of 1277–1282, for an iron object or tool or a set of tools.^[12] The noun ferramenta in its modern sense, iron goods and the shop that sells them, is first recorded in Foscolo in 1807.^[13][6][2]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian ferramento also meant a weapon, an iron used in surgery and a horseshoe.^[12] Its plural could be i ferramenti or le ferramenta, and, rarely, a masculine i ferramenta;^[9] Boccaccio has two men unloading “certi ferramenti” (some iron tools) they carried on their shoulders.^[9]

From the collective plural ferramenta came the modern noun for hardware, the nails, screws, bolts and tools sold together, and then, by extension, for the shop itself.^[2][3][7] For the shop the word is often masculine (il ferramenta), but feminine in the north.^[4][5]

Timeline

• 1277–1282 – Ferramento is first recorded, in a Sienese document.^[12]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ferramento for an iron tool.^[13]
• 1807 – Foscolo uses ferramenta for iron goods.^[13][6][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. hardware, ironmongery: an assortment of iron or other metal articles and tools, such as nails, screws, bolts and pliers: Il reparto ferramenta è in fondo al magazzino.^[2][7][3][1]
2. The metal fittings of a manufactured object, such as a door or window frame.^[4][5]
3. A hardware store, ironmonger's shop (usually masculine): Il ferramenta sotto casa chiude il lunedì.^[2][7][5][1]
4. (uncommon) A person who sells such goods, an ironmonger.^[14][1]

Related words

• ferramento
• ferro
• Latin ferramentum
• Spanish herramienta

Usage notes

The word is invariable in the dictionaries: feminine for the goods, masculine or feminine for the shop.^[2][4][5] Wiktionary also gives the plurals ferramente (feminine) and ferramenti (masculine).^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
6. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ 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. 5, 854
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1622
12. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
13. ^ a b c Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli