maglietta

Forms

maglietta f (plural magliette)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian maglia (“mesh; knitted fabric”) + -etta, a diminutive.^[2][3][1][4] The base word came from Old Occitan malha or Old French maille, from Latin macula (“spot; mesh of a net”), which in its other sense gave the inherited macchia (“stain”).^[2][3][1] DELI notes that Vincenzio Borghini had already seen in the 16th century that both nouns share the Latin source.^[2] The same word is Spanish malla and Portuguese malha.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's only record is a Florentine statute of 1356–1357, where maglette are small metal eyelets sewn on clothes.^[5] DELI's first record of the diminutive is John Florio's dictionary of 1598.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 15th and 16th centuries magliette were the small rings or studs from which mail armour was made, as San Bernardino describes, and the eyelets on clothes for hooks and buttons: Lorenzo de' Medici's rustic poem has uncinegli o magghiette o bottoni.^[6][7] Later uses named other small rings: the sling ring on a rifle (1869) and the ring on a picture frame for hanging it (1891).^[2]

The garment came with the knitted maglia: a light knitted top of wool or cotton is first recorded in 1939–1940, in Palazzi's dictionary.^[2][3] The maglietta della salute is the undershirt worn for warmth, and today maglietta is above all the T-shirt.^[8][9][1]

Timeline

• 1356–1357 – A Florentine statute records maglette, eyelets on clothes.^[5]
• 1598 – John Florio's dictionary has the diminutive maglietta.^[2]
• 1869 – The rifle's sling ring is called maglietta.^[2]
• 1891 – The ring on a picture frame is recorded.^[2]
• 1939–1940 – Maglietta names a light knitted garment.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A T-shirt; a light knitted top, usually short-sleeved, worn next to the skin or on its own: Con questo caldo basta una maglietta e un paio di jeans.^[9][10][1]
2. maglietta della salute, an undershirt worn under a shirt.^[9][8]
3. A small ring on a picture frame or mirror, for hanging it on a nail.^[9][8][11]
4. The flattened ring on a rifle through which the sling passes.^[9][8]
5. An eyelet or loop on a garment for a hook or button.^[8][11][12]

Word family

• magliettina

Related words

• maglia
• maglione
• macchia
• Latin macula

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 9, 456
7. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
10. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli