fogno

Forms

fogno m (plural fogni)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *faonius, from Latin favōnius (“the warm west wind”).^{[2][1][3][4][5]} It is a doublet of the learned favonio.^[1] Devoto explains the form by the complete loss of /v/ between vowels and the contraction of /ao/ to /o/.^[6]

The Latin word survives mainly in the south of Italy, in Romansh and in the Iberian Peninsula: Neapolitan favune, Romansh favun, Catalan fagony and Spanish fagüeño.^[7][5] German Föhn was borrowed from it.^[5] Wiktionary traces the Latin word to a Proto-Italic agent noun, either from the root of faveō (“to favour”) or from that of foveō (“to warm”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Sabatini–Coletti dates the word before 1834.^[2] Tommaseo, following Fanfani, describes it as a mountain storm that sometimes rages in the Apennines, a furious wind with sleet.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The Latin name of the warm west wind has become in Tuscany the name of a cold squall with snow.^[8][3] The verb fognare means “to snow with wind”.^[7][5] Elsewhere the same Latin word kept the older sense: it names a westerly wind in Campania and Apulia, a hot wind in the Abruzzi, sultry sirocco weather at La Spezia, and in Lucca the feminine faonza is a blazing heat.^[9][5]

Timeline

• Before 1834 – The first record Sabatini–Coletti gives.^[2]
• 1855 – The date Zingarelli gives.^[4]
• 1869 – The date GRADIT gives.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Tuscany) A violent squall of wind with rain and sleet, typical of the central Apennines.^{[2][4][10][3][1]}

Word family

• fognare

Related words

• favonio
• Latin favōnius
• German Föhn

Usage notes

An unrelated obsolete fogno, a masculine of fogna “sewer”, is recorded in 1869.^[3][11] Tommaseo quotes it from a sonnet: certi fogni / dove i tintori imbottan la vinaccia (“certain sewers where the dyers barrel the grape pomace”).^[8] An old adjective fogno, “not collectable” of a debt or tax, is formed from the verb fognare “to falsify the measure”.^[5][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1676
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 186
7. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ Cortelazzo, Manlio; Marcato, Carla (1998), I dialetti italiani: dizionario etimologico, Torino: UTET
10. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
12. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca