lambrusco

Forms

lambrusco m (plural lambruschi)^[1] Old forms are Old Italian lanbruschi and Old Italian lambruschi (plural).^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin labruscum (“fruit of the wild vine”), from labrusca (“wild vine”), with the /m/ inserted before the labial consonant that also appears in lambrusca.^{[3][4][5][1][6]} Zingarelli calls it a learned word.^[7] Sabatini–Coletti speak of a nasal infix, and DELI compares strambo and the old Asti form lambarint (“labyrinth”).^[8][3]

The DÉRom reconstructs a Proto-Romance feminine Vulgar Latin *labrusca, kept in Romanian, Tuscan, Dalmatian and Catalan, and an innovating type with /m/ in a compact central area: Italian, French, Franco-Provençal, Occitan, Gascon and Catalan.^[9] The masculine is found only in Italian and Occitan, and probably first meant the fruit.^[9] Cognates of the feminine include Old French lambruis and Catalan llambrusca.^[4]

The Latin feminine is recorded from Virgil on.^[3][9] Nocentini takes both Latin words for loans from an unknown source, like many Latin words for wine.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT and Zingarelli date the word before 1320 in the sense “wild vine”.^[5][7] DELI's first record is the Italian translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi, of about 1350, where the TLIO gives the sense: the grapes of the wild vine, white or black, with very small bunches and berries.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

In the 19th century Tommaseo knew lambrusco as a Tuscan kind of grape and as the red wine of Modena, also called di Sorbara, made from the cultivated lambrusca.^[10] The DEI dates the wine sense to the 19th century.^[11] Today the name covers a group of vines grown mainly in Emilia, with acid black grapes, and the lightly sparkling red wine made from them, named by area: lambrusco di Sorbara, di Castelvetro, reggiano.^[12][13][5] The sense “wild vine” is obsolete.^[7]

Timeline

• Before 1320 – The word is first recorded, for the wild vine.^[5][7]
• c. 1350 – The Italian translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi uses it for the grapes of the wild vine.^[3][2]
• 19th century – Lambrusco names the Emilian wine.^[11][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A grape variety grown chiefly in Emilia, with black, sourish grapes.^[5][13][14]
2. The lightly sparkling red wine made from it: Abbiamo aperto un lambrusco secco.^[5][13][7]
3. (obsolete) The wild vine or its grapes.^[5][7][8]

Related words

• lambrusca
• abrostine
• Latin labrusca

Usage notes

The plural lambruschi is uncommon;^[14][8] Sabatini–Coletti also give the word as invariable.^[14][8] The wine is often written with a capital, Lambrusco.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ a b c Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
10. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2155
12. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana