furetto

Forms

furetto m (plural furetti, feminine furetta)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *furittus (“little thief”), a diminutive of Latin fur (“thief”), because the animal steals into rabbits' burrows and raids hen-houses.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} DELI is unsure whether Italian continues the Latin word directly or received it through French furet, recorded in 1265.^[2] DEI derives it from French.^[6] The Late Latin word for the ferret was furo, from the same word.^[3][7] Isidore links the name with the word for thief, because the animal digs dark, hidden burrows.^[7]

The same diminutive is the French word, Sicilian furittu and Logudorese Sardinian forittu, and Spanish hurón continues the Late Latin noun.^[3][8][1] The French word gave German Frettchen.^[6]

The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Italic *fōr and Proto-Indo-European *bʰṓr (“thief”), beside Ancient Greek φώρ (phṓr).^[9][1] De Vaan doubts the older view that Latin borrowed it from Greek, since the word has many derivatives already in Plautus.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Italian translation of Crescenzi's agricultural treatise, about 1350, describes the furetto as a tame animal a little larger than a weasel, which the hunter sends into a rabbit hole with its mouth tied, so that the rabbits run out into a net.^[2][7][10] GRADIT dates the word earlier, before 1320.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The sense has stayed the ferret, the domestic albino form of the polecat used to flush wild rabbits.^[4][11] Its narrow face and quick eyes gave figurative phrases: occhi da furetto are small but lively eyes, and viso da furetto a sharp, sly face.^[12][11] By extension furetto is a lively, cunning person, and also the animal's pale fur.^[4][13]

In aviation a velivolo furetto is an aircraft equipped for electronic reconnaissance.^[11]

Timeline

• 1265 – French furet is recorded.^[2]
• Before 1320 – GRADIT's date for the first record.^[4]
• c. 1350 – The Italian Crescenzi describes rabbit hunting with the furetto.^[2][7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (zoology) ferret: the albino domestic form of the polecat (Mustela putorius furo), once used to hunt wild rabbits and now also kept as a pet.^{[4][12][13][11]}
2. The yellowish-white fur of this animal.^[13][14]
3. (figurative) A lively, restless and cunning person.^[4][13]

Related words

• furto
• Latin fur
• French furet

Usage notes

Furetto has a feminine furetta.^[1] The figurative phrases are occhi da (or di) furetto and viso da furetto.^[12][11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1737
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
12. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana