frazzo

Forms

frazzo m (plural frazzi)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin fracidus (“soft, overripe; rotten”).^[2][3][1][4] DEI sends it to frazio, a Pistoiese word for the unpleasant smell of food gone off, which it compares with Old Venetian frasio “rotten”.^[5] The same Latin word gave fracido and fradicio, and Sicilian frazzata.^[1][6] Meyer-Lübke, however, thought Caix's derivation of the word for a bad smell from fracidus hardly possible in its sounds.^[6]

Latin fracidus is formed from fraceō (“to be rotten, overripe”) or fracēs (“dregs of oil”) with the suffix -idus.^[1][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DEI's first record is in Persio Nesti, in 1948, with the sense “stench, nauseating smell”.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

The word is Tuscan.^[3][4] It names above all the sharp smell of food or drink that is beginning to go off, and more generally any foul smell.^[2][3][1][4] The related frazio is recorded from 1869.^[2]

Timeline

• 1869 – The related frazio “stench” is recorded.^[2]
• 1948 – Persio Nesti uses frazzo.^[5][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (regional, Tuscan) A nauseating smell, stench, especially of food or drink that is starting to go off.^[2][3][1][4]

Related words

• frazio
• fracido
• fradicio
• Latin fracidus

Usage notes

An older frazzo meaning “remnant, fragment” is recorded in the 13th and 14th centuries and still lives in Pistoia and Corsica.^[5][4] DEI and the GDLI take it as a semi-learned word from Latin fractiō (“breaking”), and compare Genoese frazu “diminution”.^[5][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
4. ^ a b c d e f Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 6, 318
5. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1711
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press