gioiello

Forms

gioiello m (plural gioielli)^[1] Old Italian forms include gioello, giojello, zoiel and çoello.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French joiel, also written joel, which later became French joyau.^[3][4][5][1] The French word comes from Vulgar Latin *iocāle (“belonging to play”), from Latin iocus (“jest, game”).^[3][4][6] DEI points out that Latin has the adverb iocāliter, which supports an adjective iocālis.^[7] In French the word was drawn towards joie (“joy”), which Devoto–Oli, Sabatini–Coletti and Gabrielli also name.^{[3][8][9][10]}

The French word also gave Old Occitan joell and Spanish joyel, and was borrowed as German Juwel and English jewel.^[7][4] Nocentini lists gioia in the sense “jewel” among the Italian words that belong with it.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first Italian record is in a Sienese document of 1263, in the sense of a precious ornament to be worn.^[2] DELI gives the 13th-century R. Malispini, where the word names a precious ornament made up of several gems.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Already in Old Italian the word was used figuratively for anything precious or rare, and for what one holds most important.^[2] The sense “a person dear to one, to be held in great esteem” is recorded before 1367 in G. Colombini.^[3] Later came “an object of perfect workmanship” (before 1764, F. Algarotti) and “any work or action that turns out excellently” (1869, Tommaseo–Bellini).^[3]

Derivatives followed early: gioielliere is recorded for a dealer in jewels in the 14th century and for a maker of them before 1462.^[3] Gioielleria, the craft of working jewels, appears as gioieleria in 1561 and as gioielleria in Florio's dictionary of 1598, which also has the sense “jeweller's shop”.^[3] The modern dictionaries extend the figurative use to machines and engines that work perfectly.^[5][8][11]

Timeline

• 1175 – Old French jo(i)el is first recorded.^[3]
• 1263 – The first Italian record, in a Sienese document.^[2]
• 13th century – R. Malispini uses gioiello for an ornament of several gems.^[3]
• Before 1367 – G. Colombini uses it for a dear person.^[3]
• 14th century – Gioielliere “dealer in jewels” is recorded in the Libro di motti.^[3]
• 1561 – Gioieleria “the jeweller's craft” appears in A. Citolini.^[3]
• 1598 – Florio records gioielleria, also as the jeweller's shop.^[3]
• Before 1764 – F. Algarotti uses gioiello for an object of perfect workmanship.^[3]
• 1869 – Tommaseo–Bellini records the sense “a work that turns out excellently”.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. jewel: an ornament of worked precious metal, often set with one or more gems: Teneva i gioielli della nonna in una scatola di velluto.^[5][8][9]
2. (figurative) A person who is very dear or has great qualities: Quella bambina è un vero gioiello.^[5][9][6]
3. (figurative) A thing of great value or fine workmanship: La cappella affrescata è un piccolo gioiello del Rinascimento.^[5][6][11]
4. (figurative) A machine or device built or working perfectly: Quella vecchia macchina da cucire è ancora un gioiello.^[5][8][11]
5. (invariable, after a noun) Made or decorated with precious materials: abito gioiello, a jewelled dress.^[8]

Word family

• gioielleria
• gioielliere
• ingioiellare
• gioiellino

Related words

• gioco
• gioia
• French joyau
• English jewel
• Latin iocus

Usage notes

Gioiello di famiglia is a property or possession of special value.^[6] The diminutive gioiellino is used mostly in the figurative senses.^[11][12] Synonyms are monile and gioia.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1812
8. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
10. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
11. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)