fragno

Forms

fragno m (plural fragni)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin farneus, an adjective of farnus, the name of a tree.^[2][3][4][1] The Italian form arose by metathesis from a *fargno.^[2][1] GRADIT derives it from the old Old Italian fargna, a variant of farnia.^[5] Meyer-Lübke records Old Italian fargna “broad-leaved oak” and Tarantino frana (“acorn”).^[6][7] The GDLI calls the word learned.^[8]

Which tree farnus meant is unclear: the dictionaries gloss it as an ash or an oak, and Zingarelli tentatively compares fraxinus (“ash”).^{[2][9][10][11][1]}

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is recorded from 1932, as a name for the Macedonian oak.^[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

The tree is a small oak of the Balkans and part of Anatolia; in Italy it grows wild only in the provinces of Bari and Lecce.^[8][11] The feminine fragna is used beside fragno.^[8][11][5]

Timeline

• 1932 – First record of fragno.^[2][5][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (botany) The Macedonian oak (Quercus trojana), smaller than the sessile oak (rovere), with leaves like those of the chestnut and acorns half covered by a scaly cup.^{[3][11][8][1]}

Related words

• farnia
• fragna
• Latin farnus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ 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
4. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
8. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
11. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)