fuliggine

Forms

fuliggine f (plural fuliggini)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin fūlīgō (“soot; smoke”), also spelled with ⟨ll⟩ in the glosses.^[2][3][4][1] The double ⟨gg⟩ is the usual lengthening of a consonant after the stress in a word stressed on the antepenult.^[5][6] The Tuscan variant filiggine owes its first vowel to filo (“thread”).^[7][6][8]

The same Latin word gave Spanish hollín, Portuguese fuligem and Romanian funingine.^[3][9] French does not continue it: a word of Gaulish origin took its place, and French fuligine is a learned borrowing of the 17th century.^[7]

The Latin word is derived from an old stem in -i, Proto-Italic *fūli- (“smoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂-li- (“smoke, dust”).^[10][1] Its cognates include Sanskrit and Lithuanian words for dust and vapour.^[10][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is Restoro d'Arezzo in 1282.^[11] DELI's earliest example is Bono Giamboni, before 1292, who describes rocks blackened quasi d’una fuliggine (“as if with soot”).^[2][8] In both it means the black deposit left by smoke.^[11][2]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian forms include fuligine, fulligine, filiggine and fulisina.^[11] Soot was collected for medicine, and the TLIO notes this use in the early texts.^[11] DEI adds that in the 13th–14th centuries the word also named the ash of saltwort, burnt to obtain soda.^[7] Soot was later used for inks, paints and dyes.^[4][12]

In agriculture fuliggine is the bunt of wheat, the disease also called golpe.^[4][13][12] In southern Italy it also means “cobweb”.^[7] Botanists use the Latin Fuligo for a genus of slime moulds.^[12][4]

Timeline

• 1282 – Restoro d'Arezzo uses the word.^[11]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni has fuliggine.^[2]
• Before 1484 – Fuligginoso “covered with soot” in Feo Belcari.^[2]
• 1600s – French borrows fuligine.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. soot: the black deposit of carbon particles that forms in chimneys, stoves and boilers from incomplete combustion: la cappa era coperta di fuliggine.^{[4][13][14][12]}
2. (historical) A black colouring matter made from soot, once used for inks and paints.^[4][12]
3. (agriculture) Bunt of wheat.^{[4][13][6][14]}
4. (biology) A slime mould of the genus Fuligo.^[4][12]

Word family

• fuligginoso
• infuligginare

Related words

• fumo
• Latin fuligo

Usage notes

Nero come la fuliggine means “jet black”.^[4][14] Tuscan has filiggine.^[13][6][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1731
8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 6, 436
9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
10. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
12. ^ 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)
13. ^ 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
14. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli