lacrima

Forms

lacrima f (plural lacrime)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin lăcrima (“tear”).^[2][3][4][5] With the verb lacrimō (“to weep”) it displaced flētus (“weeping”) and fleō (“to weep”).^[2] The same word is Old French lairme (modern French larme), Occitan lagrema, Catalan llagrema, and Spanish lágrima and Portuguese lágrima.^[3][6]

The Latin word continues Old Latin dacrima or dacruma, with a change of /d/ to /l/ that the GDLI calls Sabine and Wiktionary compares with lingua.^[3][7][1] The word has firm cognates that cannot be brought back to one form: Ancient Greek δάκρυ (dákru), Old High German trahan (modern German Träne and English tear) and Lithuanian ãšara.^[3] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *dáḱru-, perhaps from an earlier compound “eye-bitter”;^[1] the OLD instead thinks Latin probably took it from Ancient Greek δάκρυμα (dákruma).^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is lagrema in Guido Faba's Bolognese texts of about 1242–1243, for a drop of liquid flowing from the eyes; 13th-century laude have lagreme, lacrime and lacryme.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used it also for weeping and the grief it expresses, and for resin or sap oozing from plants.^[5] Dante calls drops of incense “lagrime” (1300–1313), and Boccaccio (before 1375) uses the word for a drop or small amount of liquid.^[2] The valle di lacrime “vale of tears” recalls the lacrimarum vallis of the Salve Regina, commonly dated to the 11th century.^[2]

From the 17th century lacrima names a wine, as in Lacrima Christi from the Naples area, and later lacrima di Puglia.^[10] The adjective lacrimogeno and gas lacrimogeno “tear gas” date from 1918.^[2]

Timeline

• About 1242–1243 – Guido Faba writes lagrema.^[2][5]
• 1300–1313 – Dante's “lagrime” of incense.^[2]
• 14th century – lacrimale and lacrimare are recorded.^[2][3]
• Before 1375 – Boccaccio uses it for “drop of liquid”.^[2]
• 17th century – Lacrima Christi as the name of a wine.^[10]
• 1918 – lacrimogeno and gas lacrimogeno.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A tear, a drop of the fluid from the eyes, shed in pain, grief or strong emotion; also the fluid itself: Le scese una lacrima mentre leggeva la lettera.^[4][11][12]
2. (usually plural) weeping, grief: scoppiare in lacrime, to burst into tears.^[4][13][12]
3. A drop of liquid, resin or sap; the drop that forms on some cheeses: una lacrima di miele.^[4][11][13]
4. (figurative) A tiny amount of liquid: Aggiungi solo una lacrima di latte.^[4][12]
5. An object shaped like a drop, such as a pendant.^[4][11][13]
6. Followed by a place name, any of several grape varieties of central and southern Italy, and their wine.^[4][10]

Word family

• lacrimale
• lacrimare
• lacrimevole
• lacrimoso
• lacrimogeno
• lacrimazione
• lacrimatoio
• lacrimabile
• illacrimato

Related words

• lagrima
• Latin lacrima
• French larme

Usage notes

The variant lagrima is less common today and mainly literary;^[11][13][7] Sabatini–Coletti explains its g as a softening spread through the northern dialects.^[11][13][7] D'Alberti noted that anatomists, antiquaries and agronomists preferred lacrima.^[2] Common phrases are lacrime di coccodrillo “crocodile tears”, piangere a calde lacrime “to weep bitterly” and valle di lacrime.^[4][12] Lacrima is also the third person singular present of lacrimare.^[2]

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 m 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 d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ 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. 8, 675
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
10. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2148
11. ^ 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
12. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse