loico

Forms

loico m (plural loici, feminine loica)^[1]

Etymology

It is the old form of logico: borrowed from Latin lŏgicus (“of reasoning, logical”), which is from Ancient Greek λογικός (logikós).^[2][1][3] The Greek adjective is formed from λόγος (lógos, “speech, reasoning”).^[2]

DELI holds that Dante's use kept this variant alive in the written language, while in the dialects and in slang the same form is the regular popular outcome of Latin lŏgicum and lŏgicam, untouched by Dante.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI dates the noun, “one who knows logic or reasons logically”, to Dante in 1304–1308, and the adjective “belonging to logic” to a 14th-century Italian version of Saint Augustine.^[2] The line Tu non pensavi ch'io loico fossi (“You did not think I was a logician”) is Dante's.^[4]

Semantic evolution

As a noun the word was used above all for a person trained in logic or a keen reasoner.^[4][2] Boccaccio says of Guido Cavalcanti that he was one of the best loici the world had.^[4] As an adjective it still meant “conforming to the laws of rational thought” in Varchi, before 1565, long before logico is recorded in that sense in 1785.^[2]

The feminine noun loica “logic” lasted into Tasso (1580), but Salvini already found it an affected archaism and preferred logica.^[2] Tommaseo marks both the adjective and the noun as obsolete and refers to logico,^[5] and GRADIT labels the word obsolete and literary.^[6]

Timeline

• 1304–1308 – Dante uses loico as a noun, “logician”.^[2]
• 14th century – The adjective “belonging to logic” appears in an Italian version of Saint Augustine.^[2]
• Before 1565 – Varchi uses loico for “consistent with rational thought”.^[2]
• 1580 – Tasso still writes loica for “logic”.^[2]
• 1785 – Logico is first recorded in the sense “rational”, replacing the old form.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (archaic, literary) A logician; a keen reasoner.^[4][1][2]

Adjective

1. (obsolete) logical; belonging to logic.^[6][5][3]

Related words

• logico
• logica
• Latin logicus

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 Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
4. ^ 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)
5. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET