giumella

Forms

giumella f (plural giumelle)^[1] The old form is Old Italian giomella.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Medieval Latin iumella, which stands for Latin gemella (“twin, double”) with manum (“hand”) understood: “the twin hand”.^[2][4][5][6] The Medieval Latin form appears in northern place names from the 12th century and as the name of a measure in documents of 1267 and 1271.^[2] The DEI records the old sense “measure of grain”.^[7]

The sources explain the ⟨u⟩ in different ways.^[2][6] DELI and Zingarelli see the intrusion of giunta, Devoto a cross with giunte, as in “joined hands”, and Sabatini–Coletti one with Latin iūnctus (“joined”).^[2][4][8][9] Nocentini and the DEI speak of the change of a pretonic ⟨e⟩ to ⟨u⟩, as in French jumeau (“twin”).^[6][7] Nocentini compares jumelles (“binoculars”).^[6] French expresses the same idea with jointée, from Late Latin *junctatae (manus) (“joined hands”).^[7][3]

The Latin adjective is formed from geminus (“twin”).^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is the form giomella in the 13th-century Fiore.^[2] The form giumella appears in the 14th century in D. Dini, in a veterinary recipe that calls for two giumelle of salt.^[2][11]

Semantic evolution

The word has always meant what the two cupped hands can hold.^[2][5] Agricultural writers measured soil, vetch or grain in giumelle, and Tommaseo cites the phrase a giumella or a giumelle, “in great quantity”.^[3][11] The phrase fare giumella means to cup the hands together, and Carducci has people drinking from their cupped palms.^[12][4] Zingarelli marks the word as Tuscan, and Sabatini–Coletti as regional.^[4][9]

Timeline

• 12th century – Medieval Latin iumella appears in northern place names.^[2]
• 13th century – giomella in the Fiore.^[2]
• 1267 and 1271 – iumella is the name of a measure in Latin documents.^[2]
• 14th century – giumella in Dino Dini.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The hollow made by holding the two palms side by side with the fingers joined and curved up.^[5][12][9]
2. A double handful, the amount held in that hollow: Prese una giumella di castagne dal sacco.^{[5][13][4][1]}

Related words

• gemello
• giunta
• mano
• Latin gemellus

Usage notes

A giumelle means “in plenty, by the handful”.^[12][14][5] Fare giumella (less often fare giumelle) is to cup the hands together.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
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, 883
4. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1820
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli