gheriglio

Forms

gheriglio m (plural gherigli)^[1] The variant gariglio is less common.^[2][3][4] The first record has the Venetian form Old Italian garilglo.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *carilium, derived from Latin caryon (“nut”), which is from Ancient Greek κάρυον (káruon, “nut, walnut”).^[6][7][8][1] Battisti and Alessio set up both *carylium and carulium, adaptations of καρύδιον (karúdion), a diminutive of the Greek noun, and Gabrielli also starts from that diminutive.^[9][10] The Greek word has no known etymology.^[6][11]

The initial ⟨g⟩ shows the voicing of /k/ before /a/ that is not unusual in Tuscan.^[3] Devoto saw in the vowel ⟨e⟩ a crossing with ghermire, “to seize”, making the kernel “what one takes”.^[12]

Forms of this word are found in Tuscany and northern Italy, in southern France and in Spain.^[9] Wiktionary names the cognate Spanish garojo, and Körting points to the many Friulian, northern Italian and southern French descendants studied by Schuchardt.^[1][13]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a Venetian commentary on the fables of Walterius from the end of the 14th century, with the form garilglo for the edible part of the walnut.^[5] In the standard form DELI dates it to before 1574, in A. F. Doni: arrivato poi al gheriglio che è buono, viene a gustare il suo sapore (“then, having reached the kernel, which is good, he comes to taste its flavour”).^[6][14]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept the sense of the walnut kernel, made of two oily, fleshy lobes wrapped in a bitter skin.^[8][15] The vocabulary of Carena distinguished the whole kernel, its two halves (mezzi gherigli) and their quarters (spicchi or cosce).^[14] By extension writers such as D'Annunzio and Gozzano used it for the inner part of other fruits.^[14]

Timeline

• Late 14th century – The Venetian form garilglo is recorded.^[5]
• Before 1574 – A. F. Doni uses gheriglio.^[6][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. The edible kernel of the walnut, made of two oily lobes covered by a thin bitter skin.^[8][2][15]

Word family

• sgherigliare
• sgheriglio

Related words

• Ancient Greek κάρυον (káruon)
• Spanish garojo

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
5. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1796
10. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
11. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 201
13. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
14. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 6, 727
15. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)