lappa

Forms

lappa f (plural lappe)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word: it is borrowed from Latin lappa (“burdock”), a word of Virgil and Pliny.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Medieval Latin texts in Italy use it in the 14th century, in Pier de’ Crescenzi.^[2] The inherited diminutive is lappola.^[2][6] The Latin word has popular outcomes in Occitan lapa, Spanish lapa and Portuguese lapa, and was borrowed as Basque lapa.^[7][6]

The origin of the Latin word is not known.^[2][7][8] DELI notes that it looks like a popular, expressive word, but no Indo-European explanation has been found.^[2] Latin Wiktionary mentions a possible link with Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang loosely”), the root of labium, and the similar Proto-Slavic *lopěnъ (“burdock”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Mantuan text of Belcalzer, of 1299–1309, where a chapter is headed Capitol de la lappa; the sense is the same as lappola, burdock.^[9] DELI dates the word to the 15th century (Tanaglia) and to 1499 (Francesco Colonna).^[2]

Semantic evolution

Colonna's narrator does not mind that his woollen toga is torn by thorny branches and “all full of lappe”, the hooked burrs that cling to clothes.^[10] Tanaglia advises the farmer to keep the sheep's pasture clear of thorns and lappe for the sake of their cheese and wool.^[10] The word named both the plant and its burr-like flower heads, which stick to clothes and to the fleece of animals.^[10][2]

In 19th-century botany Lappa was the name of the burdock genus, with the common burdock known as lappa bardana or bardana.^[11] Its root was used as a diuretic and against skin diseases.^[11][2]

Timeline

• 1299–1309 – Lappa appears in Belcalzer's Mantuan translation.^[9]
• 14th century – Medieval Latin lappa in Pier de’ Crescenzi.^[2]
• 15th century – Tanaglia uses lappa.^[2]
• 1499 – Francesco Colonna writes of a toga full of lappe.^[2][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (botany) Burdock (Arctium lappa), a plant with large leaves and round flower heads whose hooked bracts cling to clothing.^{[5][12][13][14][1]}
2. (botany) A general name for plants whose fruits or flower heads have hooks that catch in the fleece of animals, the same as lappola.^[4][15]
3. A burr, the hooked flower head of these plants.^[10][15]

Word family

• lappola
• allappare

Related words

• bardana
• Latin lappa

Usage notes

A separate Old Italian lappa meant “eyelid”: it is recorded in a Pistoian text of 1333, and the TLIO derives it from nappa.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
4. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ 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, p. 8, 765
11. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
15. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)