guazzo

Forms

guazzo m (plural guazzi)^[1]

Etymology

Most likely it is inherited from Latin aquātiō (“a supply of water; rain”), used in its nominative form, with the initial vowel lost by fusion with the article.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The Latin noun comes from aquor (“to fetch water”), which goes back to aqua (“water”).^[6][1][2] DEI, GDLI and Wiktionary see it as a word of northern origin, and DEI adds that it met the word guado “ford”.^[7][8][1]

Descendants of the Latin noun in which the ending was reinterpreted as the augmentative -one confirm it: Neapolitan acquazze, Sicilian acquazzu and Venetian aguazo.^[2] Wiktionary sees acquazzone as a doublet.^[1] The LEI finds the Latin word, meaning a downpour, in relic areas of eastern France and northern Italy.^[9]

DELI weighs two explanations: a derivative of guazza “dew”, from Vulgar Latin *aquācea or *aquātia “watery place”, or, more plausibly, the Latin nominative, as Malkiel argued in 1948.^[10] It also notes Hubschmid's proposal of a Germanic influence (1953).^[10] Zaccaria hesitated between Old High German wazzar (“water”) and the verb Old Occitan guazar.^[11] The TLIO files the word under the LEI's *aquāceus (“watery”), the base also of Old French gaice (“marsh”) and Old Occitan eguessa (“deep water”).^[12][13]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Dante's Commedia (1300–1313), where guazzo is a hollow holding mostly stagnant water.^[10][12] In Inferno 32 Dante sees a thousand faces made doglike by the cold, and shudders at de’ gelati guazzi (“the frozen pools”).^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used guazzo for a guado (a guazzo, by fording), for a disordered or dangerous situation, for rain that floods, and for tears.^[12] In the Decameron a falconer takes his falcons to a guazzo to fly them at water birds.^[8][12]

From the 16th century dipingere a guazzo named painting in a kind of tempera with gum instead of animal glue: Vasari uses the phrase in 1550, Sabba da Castiglione before 1554.^[13][10] By the end of the 18th century guazzo was also a painting made this way.^[10] The painters' term passed into French as à Guazzo (1684) and gouache (1746), and English took both guazzo (1720) and the French gouache.^[14][15]

Tuscan usage keeps the senses “ford” and “alcohol in which fruit is preserved”, as in ciliegie in guazzo.^[5][16][17] Tommaseo records uova guazze, eggs gone bad, perhaps because they slosh when shaken.^[18]

Timeline

• 1300–1313 – Dante uses guazzo for frozen pools.^[10]
• 1550 – Vasari writes of painting a guazzo.^[13]
• Before 1554 – Sabba da Castiglione names the painting technique.^[10]
• 1684 – French à Guazzo is recorded.^[14]
• 1720 – English guazzo is recorded.^[14]
• 1746 – French gouache is recorded.^[14]
• Before 1798 – Milizia uses guazzo for a painting.^[10]
• 1825 – German Guazzo is recorded.^[14]
• 1868 – English gouache for the method of painting.^[15]

Meanings

Noun

1. A quantity of water or other liquid spilled on the ground, a puddle: Dopo la doccia c’era un guazzo sulle piastrelle. Essere in un guazzo di sudore is to be drenched in sweat.^[3][16][17]
2. A pool of standing water, a marsh.^[3][8]
3. (Tuscan) A ford: passare a guazzo, to ford.^{[3][5][4][16]}
4. (Tuscan) Alcohol in which fruit is preserved: pesche in guazzo.^[5][16][17]
5. (painting) gouache, a tempera technique using gum and water.^[5][16] Also a painting made with it.^{[5][16][17][3]}

Adjective

1. (literary) Soaked, sodden.^[16][8]

Word family

• guazza
• guazzare
• diguazzare
• guazzetto
• sguazzare

Related words

• acquazzone
• acqua
• guado
• French gouache
• Latin aquatio

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1889
8. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 632
10. ^ 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
11. ^ Zaccaria, Enrico (1901), L'elemento germanico nella lingua italiana: lessico con appendice e prospetto cronologico, Bologna: Treves
12. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
13. ^ a b c Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 550
14. ^ a b c d e Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
15. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
16. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
17. ^ 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)
18. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET