manzo

Forms

manzo m (plural manzi)^[1]

Etymology

In most dictionaries it is inherited from Vulgar Latin *măndius, a word of pre-Roman origin, Alpine according to DELI and Devoto.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Meyer-Lübke gives the base the senses “foal” and “cattle”: it survives as Romanian mânz (“foal”), the Gardenese mants (“bull”) and mandza (“heifer”), and the Romansh manz (“young bovine”), and it reaches the German dialects of the Alps.^[6][7] Wiktionary compares Albanian mëz and Aromanian mãndzu and suggests a pre-Latin, possibly Illyrian, root.^[1] Meyer-Lübke notes that the link with horses is Romanian and Albanian, that the name of the Messapian god Menzana does not fit in its vowel, and that a Gaulish origin is geographically unlikely.^[6] Prati, who denies an Alpine origin, makes the base mean a sterile beast and compares Basque mando (“mule”).^[8]

Nocentini derives the base from Latin mandra (“pen; herd”), so that the word first meant an animal of the pen rather than one used for work or carrying, as Romanian “foal” shows.^[7] He explains the loss of ⟨r⟩ from the expected ⟨*mandriu⟩ by simplification, as in Tuscan ⟨propio⟩ for ⟨proprio⟩.^[7] Only Alinei, according to DELI, starts from *mansus, for the classical Latin mansuetus (“tamed”), with ⟨nz⟩ for ⟨ns⟩ in dialect and southern pronunciation.^[2] Salvini had already linked the word with the same adjective.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Neri degli Strinati in the 14th century, Zingarelli dates it about 1309, and the sense is a castrated male bovine one to four years old.^[2][10] The GDLI quotes Strinati giving sheep, cows and manzi in sharecropping to a farmer of the Mugello.^[11] The TLIO records the word only as a unit of weight, in Pegolotti's handbook of trade, in the first half of the 14th century.^[12]

Semantic evolution

A Bolognese text of 1383 has un paro di manc, and Folgore di San Gimignano uses the feminine manza for a heifer as food in the 14th century.^[2] The meat of the animal, beef, is recorded from 1590, in Tasso.^[2][13] Prati notes that early sources use the word for a young working ox as well as for one raised for slaughter, and Muratori wrote that bulls began to be called manzi once castrated and tamed.^[8][11]

Tommaseo already records the familiar sense of a big, clumsy man.^[9] In recent youth slang a manzo is a handsome, well-built young man.^[14] In the Gallo-Italian colonies of Lucania manzë names the ram trained to lead the flock.^[7] English recorded the word, rarely, in 1623.^[13]

Timeline

• c. 1309 – Neri degli Strinati uses manzi for young cattle.^[10][2]
• 14th century – Folgore di San Gimignano has the feminine manza.^[2]
• First half of the 14th century – Pegolotti uses manzo for a unit of weight.^[12]
• 1383 – A Bolognese text has un paro di manc.^[2]
• 1590 – Tasso uses it for beef.^[2][13]
• 1623 – English manzo is recorded.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A steer: a castrated male bovine between one and four years old, raised for slaughter.^[3][4][10]
2. beef, the meat of this animal: uno spezzatino di manzo con le patate.^[3][4][15]
3. (figurative) A big, strong, uncouth man.^[3][4][10]
4. (slang) A good-looking, well-built young man.^[14]
5. Pesce manzo, a cartilaginous fish of the Hexanchidae family.^[15][3]

Word family

• manza
• manzetto
• manzuolo
• manzolaio

Related words

• mandria
• Romanian mânz

Usage notes

The feminine manza is a heifer.^[10][8] The ⟨z⟩ is voiced: /ˈman.dzo/.^[4][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 632
9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 9, 758
12. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
13. ^ a b c d Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
14. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
15. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)