ghiera

Forms

ghiera f (plural ghiere)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian ghera, Old Italian viera and Old Italian ghuera.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin viria (“bracelet”), a word of the glosses; the usual Latin form from the imperial period was the plural ⟨viriae⟩.^[5][4][6] Medieval Latin guera is recorded at the same time as the first Italian examples.^[5]

Pliny states that the word came from the Celts of Spain.^[4] Nocentini sees confirmation in the name of the Celtiberian leader Viriatus, who fought the Roman conquest, read as “the one wearing the bracelet”.^[4] GRADIT and DEI call it Iberian or Celtiberian.^[7][6] Wiktionary takes it from Gaulish *viros (“round, crooked”), from Proto-Celtic *weiros (“crooked”).^[1][8]

The diphthong ⟨iè⟩ comes from a metathesis of the ⟨i⟩.^[4] The initial ⟨g⟩ is one of the Tuscan cases of ⟨g⟩ for ⟨v⟩, as in Old Italian golpe beside volpe (“fox”).^[4] Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti explain it instead as a ⟨v⟩ treated like the ⟨w⟩ of a Lombardic word.^[9][10]

In the north the word is Venetian vera (“ring, wedding ring”), which also passed into Romansh.^[4][11][1] A further outcome is Aromanian veare.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Statutes of Pisa of 1321, for a small ring, usually of metal, around the end of an object to strengthen it.^[2] In the 14th century M. Bellebuoni lists uno corallo con ghiera d'ariento (“a coral with a silver ring”).^[5][3]

Semantic evolution

Already in Old Italian the word also named the head of an arch in architecture.^[2] The architectural ghiera dell'arco is defined by Baldinucci in 1681.^[5] Later writers describe the rings of gold or silver on bridles, scabbards and staffs.^[3]

The mechanical sense of an internally threaded ring that is screwed onto a shaft to lock parts in place is recorded in 1833.^[5] Today the word also names the ferrule of a stick or umbrella, the band that holds a rifle barrel to its stock, and the metal hoops on masts.^[7][9] Treccani adds a rare use for the curb of a well, as an Italian form of Venetian vera.^[12]

Timeline

• 1321 – The Statutes of Pisa have ghiera.^[2]
• 14th century – Medieval Latin guera is recorded.^[5]
• 1681 – Baldinucci defines ghiera dell'arco in architecture.^[5]
• 1833 – First record of the mechanical sense.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A ferrule: a metal tip or ring that strengthens the lower end of a stick, umbrella or tool.^[7][9][10]
2. (firearms) The metal band that holds the barrel of a rifle to its stock.^[7][9]
3. (mechanics) A ring nut: an internally threaded metal ring used to guide or lock mechanical parts.^{[7][9][10][13]}
4. (nautical) A metal hoop fitted round a mast or pole to reinforce it.^[7][9][10]
5. (architecture) An extradosed arch of uniform thickness; an archivolt.^[7][9][14]

Word family

• ghierato

Related words

• vera
• Latin viria

Usage notes

An obsolete ghiera of the 14th century was a dart with a tapering head and hooks at the sides, shot from a crossbow; the TLIO first records it in a Sienese chronicle of about 1362.^[7][2][15] GRADIT and Devoto–Oli derive it from Latin verū (“spit; dart”) crossed with Lombardic *gairo (“spear”), DEI and the GDLI with a Lombardic *ger, and Zingarelli from verū influenced by the ring ghiera.^{[7][9][6][15][14]}

DEI and Tommaseo also record an old ghiera, an electuary based on aloe, shortened from gerapicra.^[6][16]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ 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, 737
4. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1799
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
12. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
14. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
15. ^ 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, 738
16. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET