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gomma

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word gomma

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1300 late 13th century, Florentine translation of the Antidotarium Nicolai More words from the 13th century
Inherited from
Latin gumma
Ultimate origin
Egyptian qmyt
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek κόμμι (kómmi)
Latin cummis
Italian gomma
From the same root
Spanish goma ← κόμμι

Pronunciation

Forms

gomma f (plural gomme)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin gumma, a late form of Latin cummi and gummi (“gum”).[2][3][4][1] Cato and Varro have the first of these, the second appears in the 1st century AD, and the first-declension form in the 6th century, in the Latin Dioscorides and in recipe books.[2][5] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek κόμμι (kómmi), from Egyptian qmyt, the resin of the Nile acacia.[3][2][6] The GDLI suggests that it reached Latin through Etruscan.[7]

The word belongs to Italian and western Romance: French gomme, Occitan goma, Catalan goma, Spanish goma and Portuguese goma.[5][3][8] From Italian it passed into Albanian as gomë.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are a Florentine translation of the Antidotarium Nicolai from the end of the 13th century and the Tuscan poem L'Intelligenza, where the word means the hardened sap of plants used in medicines and cosmetics.[9] The poem speaks of funami di gomme odifere, smokes of fragrant gums.[7]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already named kinds of gum such as gomma adragante, tragacanth, and goma arabica (before 1313).[9][4] In the 16th century the word also named a syphilitic swelling, the source of the medical sense.[10]

Gomma elastica for caoutchouc appears before 1798, and for an eraser in 1823; plain gomma “eraser” is in Fanfani in 1868.[2] The tyre (1905, Antonio Fogazzaro), synthetic rubber (1941) and chewing gum followed: gomma da masticare in 1911, gomma americana in Pasolini in 1959, plain gomma in 1967.[2] Gommapiuma was a Pirelli trade name (1950), and gommone, the inflatable motor dinghy, is recorded from 1964.[2] Cyclists say a race was won di una gomma, by the width of a tyre.[11][12]

Timeline

  • Late 13th century – A Florentine translation of the Antidotarium Nicolai has the first record.[9]
  • Before 1313 – Goma arabica is recorded.[4]
  • Before 1798 – Gomma elastica is used for caoutchouc.[2]
  • 1868 – Gomma means an eraser in Pietro Fanfani.[2]
  • 1905 – Antonio Fogazzaro uses gomma for a tyre.[2]
  • 1911 – Gomma da masticare appears in the Domenica del Corriere.[2]
  • 1950 – Gommapiuma is recorded.[2]
  • 1964 – Gommone is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. gum: the thick, sticky sap of some plants, which hardens in the air: gomma arabica.[4][11][13]
  2. rubber, natural (caucciù) or synthetic, and the material made from it: una pallina di gomma.[4][13][14]
  3. An eraser: gomma da matita, gomma pane.[4][13][11]
  4. A tyre of a vehicle: Ho una gomma a terra.[4][14][11]
  5. chewing gum, also gomma da masticare or gomma americana.[4][13][11]
  6. (popular) A garden hose.[4][13]
  7. (medicine) A gumma, a soft nodule of infectious origin that breaks down into an ulcer.[4][11][15]
  8. (chemistry) A gummy deposit that forms in some petrols.[4]

Word family

  • gommone
  • gommista
  • gommapiuma
  • gommalacca
  • gommagutta
  • gommoso
  • gommare
  • gommino
  • gommifero
  • gommoresina
  • sgommare
  • ingommare
  • French gomme
  • Latin cummi

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1842
  6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  10. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 516
  11. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  13. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  14. ^ 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
  15. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Gomma.” Etymologically, 10 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/gomma. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

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