libagione

Forms

libagione f (plural libagioni)^[1] A less common and literary variant is libazione.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin lībātiō (“libation”), through its accusative.^[2][5][6][7] The Latin noun is formed from lībō (“to pour a libation”) with the suffix -tiō.^[8][1] The Latin word took the sense “sacrifice, offering” in the Vulgate.^[7]

The ending ⟨-gione⟩ rather than the learned ⟨-zione⟩ reflects a northern pronunciation with voicing, rendered in Tuscan as ⟨-gione⟩.^[9] Sabatini–Coletti also says the form spread through the northern dialects.^[10] The form libazione keeps the Latin ending.^[1][4] The French word libation is recorded in 1488.^[7]

De Vaan follows the view that the Latin verb was first a verb “to make a sacrificial cake” from lībum (“sacrificial cake”), which shares a root Proto-Indo-European *h₂libʰ- with Ancient Greek ἀλείφω (aleíphō, “to anoint”).^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the form libatione in John Florio's Italian–English dictionary of 1598, for the rite of pouring wine or another liquid on an altar or on the ground in honour of the gods.^[12][2] The form libagione is first found in Anton Maria Salvini in 1723.^[12]

Semantic evolution

Salvini's translations use libagione beside sacrifice and the offering of first fruits, and Scipione Maffei writes of Bacchus receiving le libazioni in the theatre.^[7][13] By the late 18th century the word was used jokingly for a drinking bout: DELI's first record of this sense is in Gasparo Gozzi, before 1786.^[12]

Today the religious sense belongs to the history of ancient and primitive religions, and the jocular sense, a hearty drinking of wine or beer, usually by a group, is the everyday one.^[2][3][4]

Timeline

• 1598 – John Florio records libatione.^[12]
• 1723 – Anton Maria Salvini uses libagione.^[12]
• Before 1786 – Gasparo Gozzi uses the word jokingly for a drinking bout.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. (history, religion) A libation, an offering of wine, milk or other liquids poured on an altar or on the ground in honour of the gods or the dead: Prima del sacrificio i sacerdoti compivano una libagione.^{[2][3][10][1]}
2. (humorous) A hearty bout of drinking, of wine or other alcohol, usually in company: Dopo la partita la squadra si concesse lunghe libagioni.^{[2][3][10][6]}

Related words

• libare
• libazione
• Latin libatio

Usage notes

Libagione is the usual form;^[4][2] libazione is old or literary.^[4][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET