lumaca

Forms

lumaca f (plural lumache)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *limāca, a form of Latin līmāx (“slug, snail”) moved into the first declension.^[2][3][4][1] DELI, DEI, GRADIT and the Hoepli dictionary derive the Vulgar Latin form directly from Ancient Greek λείμακα (leímaka), the accusative of λεῖμαξ (leîmax).^[2][5][4][6] DEI sees it as a word of central and northern Italy that spread from the Exarchate of Ravenna and never reached the South.^[5] The same Latin word gave Catalan llimach, Gascon limak and Asturian lumiaco, and the dialects of Lozère and Aveyron have limaze.^[7][3]

The change of /i/ to /u/ has been explained by the influence of lume, although Prati could see no reason for it, by the following /m/, and by a crossing with Latin lumbrīcus (“earthworm”).^[2][3][8] Sabatini–Coletti posit a rustic variant Vulgar Latin *lumāca.^[9] Northern Old Italian texts have the forms limaga and lumaga.^[10] Old Italian limaccia, used by Dante, comes from Vulgar Latin *līmācea.^[11]

The Latin word may be a borrowing from Greek λεῖμαξ (leîmax).^[1][12] The Greek word is known only from a gloss of Hesychius, and Corominas thought it might be no more than a transcription of the Latin.^[2] The ancients traced līmāx to Latin līmus (“mud”), its habitat; outside Latin the comparable words are Slavic, such as Polish ślimak.^[3][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is Belcalzer's Mantuan translation of 1299–1309, for the slug with its shell hidden under the skin of its back.^[10] DELI's first literary records are Dante's lumaccia (1300–1313) and Boccaccio's lumaca (1348–1353).^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word soon covered the snail as well: Francesco da Buti, before 1406, glossed it Come la lumaca, ovvero chiocciola, “like the slug, that is the snail”.^[2][13] In Rome lumaca still means the snail.^[11] Boccaccio's Decameron speaks of smearing walls a modo che fa la lumaca, “the way the slug does”, and Pulci's Morgante of its trail: lasciarvi il segno … come fa la lumaca.^[13]

The animal's slowness gave the figurative sense of a slow person, recorded by Tommaseo and dated by DEI to the 19th century, together with a passo di lumaca, “at a snail's pace”.^[13][5] The scala a lumaca, a spiral staircase, is recorded from the 16th century, and a short pasta from 1952.^[5][2] The augmentative lumacone meant a sly person who plays the fool before 1449 and a slow person before 1556.^[2]

Timeline

• 1299–1309 – Belcalzer's Mantuan translation has the first record.^[10]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses the form lumaccia.^[2]
• 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses lumaca.^[2]
• Before 1406 – Francesco da Buti uses it for the snail.^[2]
• Before 1449 – Lumacone is used of a sly person by Burchiello.^[2]
• 16th century – Scala a lumaca “spiral staircase” is recorded.^[5]
• 1952 – The word is recorded for a kind of pasta.^[2][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (zoology) A slug: a land gastropod of the families Arionidae and Limacidae, with a slimy body and a rudimentary shell.^{[4][14][9][15]}
2. In everyday use, a snail, especially an edible one: lumache in umido.^{[4][14][9][15]}
3. (figurative) A slow, lazy person, or a slow vehicle.^{[4][14][9][15]}
4. (usually plural) Short pasta shaped like a snail's shell.^{[4][14][9][16]}
5. (cinema) A centrifugal fan used to simulate wind during filming.^[4][14]
6. (mathematics) In lumaca di Pascal, the limaçon.^[16][6][4]

Adjective

1. (invariable, after the noun) Very slow: un autobus lumaca.^[16]

Word family

• lumacone
• lumachicida
• lumachella
• lumacoso

Related words

• limaccia
• chiocciola
• Latin līmāx

Usage notes

In the strict zoological sense lumaca is the slug and chiocciola the snail, but everyday Italian uses lumaca for both.^[14][17]

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 c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2282
6. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
10. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
11. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 606
12. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
13. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
15. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
16. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
17. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)