frasca

Forms

frasca f (plural frasche, diminutive frascina/fraschetta/frascerella)^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.^[2][3][4][1] Nocentini sees it as inherited from Vulgar Latin *virasca (“green branch”), from the root of Latin virēre (“to be green”), with the pretonic vowel lost and ⟨vr⟩ becoming ⟨fr⟩, as in frana; the Arezzo form brasca would match brana beside the standard form.^[5][6][7] Meyer-Lübke set up the same form but doubted it, since such a derivative of the Latin verb is morphologically impossible, and DEI agrees.^[6][8] Nocentini answers that the suffix -asco is well attested in central and northern Italy.^[5]

DELI and Zingarelli consider it probably pre-Indo-European.^[9][10][11] DEI sees a Mediterranean relic, perhaps of the Etruscan area, beside Latin brassica (“cabbage”) and a Greek gloss for cabbage, with the first meaning “branch full of green leaves”.^[8] Devoto too calls it Mediterranean.^[8][12] Wiktionary cites a further proposal, Late Latin frasca from *fraxus, a variant of frāctus (“broken”), but notes that it has difficulties.^[1]

The Medieval Latin form is recorded in northern Italy from the 9th century.^[8] The word covers all of Italy and reaches French dialects, and a Calabrian diminutive meaning a dry twig shows that it is older than the palatalisation of ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩.^[8] Spanish frasca is also found.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Medieval Latin frasca appears in a Verona document of 1214.^[9] The TLIO's first Italian record is Pietro da Bescapè's Lombard poem of 1274, for the branch of a tree or shrub.^[13] DELI's first record is Dante's Inferno 13, where the hunted hear le bestie e le frasche stormire “the beasts and the boughs rustling”, and in 1314 Francesco da Barberino explains frasca as a vernacular Italian word for leafy branches.^[9][14]

Semantic evolution

The leafy branch was also hung outside a tavern as its sign (TLIO, DELI dates it to 1470), hence the proverb that good wine needs no frasca.^[13][9][3] In the plural the word stood early for vain things and whims (Giordano da Pisa, before 1311), and Old Italian also used it for idle talk and lies.^[9][13] Machiavelli applied it to a fickle person, above all a woman, before 1517.^[9]

The phrase di palo in frasca, jumping from one subject to another, is already Old Italian.^[13] French borrowed the plural sense as French frasque (“prank”) (1440).^[15][14] The diminutive fraschetta meant a twig in Dante and a flighty woman in Bandello (1554).^[9]

Timeline

• 1214 – The Medieval Latin form is recorded at Verona.^[9]
• 1274 – Pietro da Bescapè has the first Italian record.^[13]
• Before 1311 – Giordano da Pisa uses the plural for vanities.^[9]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses frasche for rustling boughs.^[9]
• 1440 – French frasque is recorded.^[15]
• 1470 – The branch as a tavern sign is recorded.^[9]
• Before 1517 – Machiavelli uses it for a fickle person.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A leafy bough or twig: Si erano fatti un riparo di frasche.^{[11][7][2][10]}
2. (collective) Cut leafy twigs used as fodder for animals.^[11][7][3]
3. A branch hung over the door as the sign of a country tavern.^[10][3][4]
4. (figurative) A frivolous, fickle person, especially a woman.^[11][2][10]
5. (figurative, especially plural) Whims, vanities; idle talk, fibs; showy ornaments of no worth: Quel ragazzo ha troppe frasche in testa.^[11][7][2]

Word family

• fraschetta
• frascume
• frascone
• sfrascare
• infrascare
• frascame
• frascata
• frascheggiare
• frascheria

Related words

• French frasque

Usage notes

Saltare di palo in frasca means to jump from one subject to another with no logical link.^[10][3][11] The proverb il buon vino non ha bisogno di frasca says that good things need no advertising.^[7][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 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 Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
5. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
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 Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1708
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
12. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
14. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
15. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it