fusaggine

Forms

fusaggine f (plural fusaggini)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *fusāgine, a Vulgar Latin derivative of Latin fusus (“spindle”) (Italian fuso), so named because the wood of the shrub was used to make spindles.^[2][3][4][5] DELI points to a Venetian record of 1282 that confirms the use: it speaks of spindles made of Medieval Latin fusazene.^[2] The same Latin word is French fusain, Old Occitan fuzanh and Romagnol fuzadzna.^[6][7][8] DEI sees in it a calque of Ancient Greek ἀτρακτυλίς (atraktulís), from ἄτρακτος (átraktos, “spindle”).^[9] Wiktionary takes it as formed in Italian, from Italian fuso + -aggine.^[1]

Devoto explains the double ⟨gg⟩ by the regular lengthening of a consonant after the stress in a word stressed on the third syllable from the end, and derives the noun from a verb *fusare made from fusus.^[10] GDLI calls the word learned, from Late Latin fusago.^[11] The variant fusano, recorded from the 16th century, is of northern origin.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Before any Italian text, the Medieval Latin of Venice has fusazene in 1282.^[2][8] The first Italian record is the 14th-century Italian translation of Crescenzi's treatise on agriculture, around 1350 in DELI's dating (GRADIT has before 1320): La fusaggine è arbore piccolo, il quale nasce nelle siepi, del cui legno si fanno ottime fusa (“the spindle tree is a small tree that grows in hedges, from whose wood the best spindles are made”).^{[2][12][11][13]}

Semantic evolution

The shrub kept its name from its use for spindles: Crescenzi adds that bows for viols were also made from its wood.^[11][13] Prati lists the variants fusano, fusaro and fusajo, and the other name berretta da prete “priest's biretta”, from the shape of the fruit.^[14][3] The word entered literature with Pascoli.^[2][8]

Its soft, compact charcoal is used for drawing, and carboncino di fusaggine names the drawing charcoal.^[15][4][16]

Timeline

• 1282 – Medieval Latin fusazene is recorded at Venice.^[2][8]
• Before 1320 – GRADIT's date of first record for Italian fusaggine.^[12]
• c. 1350 – The Italian translation of Crescenzi describes the shrub and its use for spindles.^[2][11]
• 1500s – The northern variant fusano appears.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (botany) The spindle tree (Euonymus europaeus), a shrub with small yellowish flowers and red capsules, also called berretta da prete.^{[12][15][4][1]}
2. (art) Drawing charcoal made from its wood, soft and compact.^[15][4][16]

Related words

• fuso
• fusano
• berretta da prete
• French fusain
• Latin fusus

Usage notes

In Rome fusaglie or fusaie are salted lupin seeds sold in the street.^[11] Prati derives the name from Vulgar Latin *fusagine with a changed suffix, probably because the seed of the spindle tree is white with a yellow skin like a lupin.^[14][11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
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 Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
9. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1738
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ 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, 502
12. ^ a b c De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 472
15. ^ 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
16. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli