lucertola

Forms

lucertola f (plural lucertole)^[1] The older lucerta survives in early, poetic and dialect use.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian lucerta + -ola, the older word for the lizard with a diminutive suffix.^[4][5][6][3] The base is from Vulgar Latin *lucerta, a variant of Latin lacerta (“lizard”), perhaps changed under the influence of Latin lūx (“light”).^[4][5][7] DEI also notes that the lizard's name was brought near to luce.^[8] Devoto–Oli, Zingarelli, Gabrielli, the GDLI and Wiktionary derive the word instead from a Late Latin *lacertula, the diminutive of the Latin word.^{[9][10][11][12][1]}

The Latin word continues in French lézard, Occitan lazert, Spanish lagarto and Portuguese lagarto, and with the same ⟨lu-⟩ or ⟨li-⟩ in Venetian lizerta.^[13][14] Nocentini explains the great variety of Romance forms by a taboo around the lizard, held to be harmful and poisonous by some and helpful by others, since it warns of snakes.^[13] The Latin word has no sure comparison.^[13] It stands beside the masculine lacertus “mackerel”.^[13][4] Wiktionary mentions a link with Ancient Greek λικερτίζω (likertízō, “to spring, dance”) or with the Latin word for the upper arm, and DEI takes it for a Mediterranean relic, beside a Vulgar Latin *lacarta that surfaces in the Iberian Peninsula.^[1][8] Alligatore is a doublet.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a Tuscan treatise on the care of birds of prey from the early 14th century, and DELI gives the Italian translation of Seneca's letters, both in the sense “lizard”.^[6][4] The Seneca translation has the line la cicogna la lucertola, the stork seeks the lizard as the oxen seek grass.^[15]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also had lucertola verde, the green lizard, the same as ramarro, and lucertola verminara.^[6] Boccaccio used lucertole verminare in the Decameron of ugly women.^[15][12] DEI takes the animal for the gecko, the TLIO perhaps for the tarantula gecko, and the GDLI for the green lizard.^{[15][8][6][12]} Tuscan proverbs say è meglio capo di lucertola che coda di leone (“better the head of a lizard than the tail of a lion”).^[15]

Because lizards bask in the sun, a person who loves to lie in the sun is una lucertola.^[2][5] A very thin person campa di lucertole (“lives on lizards”), and to find a lizard with two tails is good luck.^[2][10][9] In the leather trade the word has meant the tanned skin of the iguana and other lizards (1965).^[4][3][2]

Timeline

• Early 14th century – A Tuscan treatise on the care of birds of prey uses lucertola.^[6]
• 14th century – The Italian translation of Seneca's letters uses the word.^[4]
• 1353 – Boccaccio's Decameron has lucertole verminare.^[10][15]
• 1965 – Raffaello Brignetti uses the word for lizard skin as leather.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. lizard: a small reptile with a slender body covered in scales, short legs, a forked tongue and a long tail that easily breaks off and grows again, common in sunny places.^[5][9][3][1]
2. (zoology) Any reptile of the family Lacertidae, and loosely some amphibians such as salamanders.^[5][9]
3. Lizard skin: the tanned skin of the iguana and other reptiles used in leatherwork: una cintura di lucertola.^[5][3][10]
4. (figurative, humorous) A person who loves to bask in the sun.^[5][16]
5. (printing) Another name for canaletto.^[5][2]

Word family

• lucertolone
• lucertolina
• lucertolino

Related words

• lucerta
• ramarro
• alligatore
• Latin lacerta
• French lézard

Usage notes

Lucertola verde is the green lizard, also called ramarro, and lucertola muraiola and lucertola campestre are the wall lizard and the Italian wall lizard.^[9][5] Pesce lucertola or lucertola di mare is a lizardfish, a Livornese name.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
3. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2276
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
12. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
13. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
14. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
15. ^ a b c d e Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
16. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana