forfecchia

Forms

forfecchia f (plural forfecchie)^[1] Wiktionary also records the variant farfecchia.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin forficula (“small pair of scissors; earwig”), a diminutive of forfex (“shears, scissors”).^[2][3][4][1] Nocentini explains the name by the insect's two small pincers at the end of the abdomen.^[3] Sabatini–Coletti calls it the word of popular tradition beside the learned forficola, which DELI treats as its learned doublet.^[5][2]

Related dialect forms are Sicilian furficicchiu and Venetian forféta.^[1][6] In the Val di Chiana and the Abruzzi a similar word names instead a forked tool for pulling down bunches of grapes.^[6]

De Vaan finds the origin of the Latin word for shears unclear: it is recorded only from Celsus on, and its cluster ⟨rf⟩ breaks the regular Latin sound laws, so he thinks a foreign origin more likely, though an old comparison links it with an Umbrian verb often translated “to shear”.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first records are from Lorenzo de' Medici, who died in 1492, and C. Landino, who died in 1498, both for the earwig.^[2] Zingarelli dates the word to before 1476, DEI to the 15th century.^[8][6] In Landino's translation of Pliny the creatures found in figs are partly born there and partly brought forth by “what is called ceraste, or forfecchia”.^[9] One of Lorenzo's poems has a lover say she pleases him more than the flowers of the fig please the forfecchia.^[9][10]

Semantic evolution

In Latin forficula meant small scissors, and in Pliny the plural named the pincers of crabs.^[10][1] The Italian word kept the sense “small scissors” only as an obsolete use;^[9][10] Boccaccio's a forfecchina describes a beard combed into two separate tufts, like the insect's forked tail.^[9][10] DEI records forfecchia for such a cut of the beard in the 18th century, and an Old Italian forfecchia for a gag or muzzle at Forlì in 1353.^[6]

The insect's name lived on in Tuscan: Tommaseo describes it as a little bug that hides in figs and has a tail forked like scissors.^[10] The modern dictionaries mark it as a popular or technical name of the earwig, now usually called forbicina.^[4][11][12]

Timeline

• Before 1492 – Lorenzo de' Medici uses forfecchia for the earwig.^[2][3][4]
• Before 1498 – C. Landino uses it in his translation of Pliny.^[2][9]
• 18th century – Forfecchia is recorded for a style of beard.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (zoology) The earwig (Forficula auricularia), an insect whose abdomen ends in two pincers; the same as forbicina.^{[4][13][8][1]}

Related words

• forbice
• forbicina
• forficola
• Latin forfex

Usage notes

Forfecchia is a technical or popular word; the common name of the insect is forbicina.^[4][11][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1688
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
10. ^ a b c d e Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier