Etymologically
Log in

ginocchio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 20:31. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /d͡ʒiˈnɔk.kjo/[1]

Forms

ginocchio m (plural ginocchia f or ginocchi m)[1] The plural is i ginocchi or, especially of the two knees of a person, le ginocchia;[2][3][4] Old Italian also had le ginocchie.[2][3][4] Old forms include Old Italian genocchio, Old Italian ginochio, Old Italian çenochio and Old Italian çinocli.[5] Southern Italy from Rome downwards has a dissimilated type dinocchio, and in places gunùcchiu under the influence of Greek.[6][7]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin genuculum (“little knee”), a variant of Latin geniculum, the diminutive of genū (“knee”).[8][9][10][1] The form with ⟨u⟩, recorded from the 4th century, took its vowel from “genu” itself and replaced the regular diminutive.[1][7][4] The diminutive drove out the simple “genu” everywhere in Romance.[6] It gave Old French genouil (modern French genou), Occitan genolh, Catalan genoll, Spanish hinojo, Portuguese joelho, Sardinian benuju and Romanian genunchi; only Portuguese gelhas continues “geniculum”.[9][6][7]

The open /ɔ/ of “ginocchio” comes from an exchange of suffixes, as in conocchia, finocchio and pidocchio.[8][11] Latin “genu” goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵónu, with the oblique stem *ǵen-u-; its cognates include Ancient Greek γόνυ (gónu), Sanskrit जानु (jā́nu), Hittite genu and Gothic 𐌺𐌽𐌹𐌿 (kniu), the source of English knee and German Knie.[12][9][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Tuscan translation of Albertano by Andrea da Grosseto, of 1268, where the word means the joint of the leg between thigh and shin, in people and in animals.[5][4] DELI's first record is the Novellino at the end of the 13th century, which tells of a fine garment that reached to the knee (il quale le dava al ginocchio).[8][13]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word appears in scenes of prayer and submission: Old Italian has in ginocchi, gettarsi in ginocchia and calare le ginocchia a terra for kneeling, and mettere sotto le ginocchia for subduing someone.[5] Dante uses the plural le ginocchia in the Purgatorio (1313–1319) and the phrase in ginocchie in the Inferno.[8][14] Petrarch writes that it is fitting to bend “the knees and the mind” to God.[13]

Later the word was extended to the part of the trousers that covers the knee (before 1858, Ippolito Nievo) and to the middle of an oar resting on the rowlock (1889, Guglielmotti).[8] In technical language it names any angled or jointed bend, as in a trave a ginocchio.[10][15] Modern figurative uses include mettere in ginocchio, “to bring to one's knees”, and the euphemistic far venire il latte alle ginocchia, “to bore to death”, in which DELI sees an old link between the knee and the sexual organs.[8][2][4]

Timeline

  • 1268 – Andrea da Grosseto uses the word, the first record in the TLIO.[5][4]
  • 13th century – Ginocchione “kneeling” is recorded, ginocchioni follows before 1342.[8]
  • Late 13th century – The Novellino uses ginocchio.[8]
  • 1313–1319 – Dante has the plural le ginocchia.[8]
  • 1579 – Ginocchiello, a knee protection, is first recorded.[9]
  • Before 1858 – Ippolito Nievo uses the word for the knee of a pair of trousers.[8]
  • 1889 – Guglielmotti records the sense “middle part of an oar”.[8]
  • 1924 – Ginocchiera “knee pad” is first recorded.[8][9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (anatomy) The knee: the joint of the leg formed by the femur, the tibia and the kneecap, and the part of the leg around it: Mi sono sbucciato un ginocchio cadendo dalla bici.[10][2][3]
  2. The part of a pair of trousers that covers the knee: Questi jeans sono consumati sulle ginocchia.[10][3][2]
  3. (zoology) In cattle and horses, the joint between the forearm and the metacarpus.[10][2][3]
  4. (nautical) The middle part of an oar, which rests on the rowlock.[10][3][4]
  5. (technology) An angled or jointed bend in an object or structure.[10][16][15]

Word family

  • ginocchiata
  • ginocchiello
  • ginocchiera
  • ginocchioni
  • inginocchiarsi
  • inginocchiatoio
  • ginocchietto
  • ginocchino
  • Latin genu
  • Ancient Greek γόνυ (gónu)
  • English knee

Usage notes

Common phrases are in ginocchio “kneeling” and, figuratively, “brought low” (un paese in ginocchio), mettere in ginocchio “to bring to one's knees”, piegare le ginocchia “to humble oneself”, and far venire il latte alle ginocchia “to bore stiff”.[2][4][16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  6. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1811
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  9. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  10. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  11. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 503
  12. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  13. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  14. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 6, 786
  15. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  16. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana