marmo

Forms

marmo m (plural marmi)^[1] The older form marmore survives in poetry, and Old Italian also had marmora and marmoro.^[2][3]

Etymology

DELI and the GDLI treat it as learned: it is borrowed from Latin marmor, a neuter noun, which is from Ancient Greek μάρμαρος (mármaros).^[4][3][5][1] Nocentini and Meyer-Lübke count it instead among the outcomes of the Latin word in every Romance language: French marbre, Occitan marme, Catalan marbre, Spanish mármol, Portuguese mármore and Romanian marmură.^[6][7] The form Old Italian marmore followed the nouns whose stem ends in a consonant; the shorter form replaced it.^[8][2]

The Greek noun meant “stone, boulder” as well as marble.^[3] DELI says it was linked, at least by popular etymology, with Ancient Greek μαρμαίρω (marmaírō, “to sparkle”), and Nocentini and Devoto–Oli derive it from that verb.^[4][6][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Miracole de Roma, of the end of the 13th century, already speak of a memorial made de marmo.^[4] DELI's first record for the stone itself is Dante, who uses marmo in 1304–1308 for the hard crystalline limestone, veined and of various colours, used for building, decoration and sculpture.^[4][5] In the Convivio he speaks of a statue “of marble, of wood or of metal” left in memory of a worthy man.^[3]

Semantic evolution

By the 14th century the word also meant a work carved in marble (before 1342, Cavalca) and, in poetry, a gravestone or tomb (before 1333, A. Simintendi).^[4] A line of Foscolo uses questi marmi for tombs.^[5][10]

The adjective marmoreo is Latin marmoreus, first in Boccaccio (1341–1342) and Petrarch (1374).^[4] Marmista, a marble worker, appears before 1749, and marmifero, of marble quarrying, in 1758.^[4] Marmorizzare, to marble a surface, was probably taken from French marmoriser.^[4]

In similes and figurative uses marmo stands for hardness, coldness and whiteness, and something carved in marble is something that will not be forgotten.^[5][8][11]

Timeline

• End of the 13th century – The Miracole de Roma mention a memorial made of marble.^[4]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses marmo.^[4][5]
• Before 1333 – A. Simintendi uses it for a gravestone.^[4]
• Before 1342 – Cavalca uses it for a work carved in marble.^[4]
• 1374 – Petrarch uses marmoreo.^[4]
• 1758 – Marmifero is first recorded, in G. B. Spolverini.^[4]
• 1869 – Tommaseo–Bellini record marmorizzare.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. marble: a limestone made crystalline by metamorphism, white or veined in various colours, cut into blocks or slabs for sculpture and facing: Il bagno è rivestito di marmo verde.^[5][9][2]
2. Any stone that can be polished and worked like marble.^[9][11]
3. A slab of marble used for building, decoration or as a top: il marmo del comò.^[5][11]
4. A sculpture or other work in marble.^[5][10]
5. (poetic) A gravestone, a tomb.^[5][10]
6. (figurative) A symbol of hardness, coldness or whiteness: bianco come il marmo.^[9][8]

Word family

• marmista
• marmifero
• marmino
• marmetta
• marmaio
• marmiera

Related words

• marmoreo
• marmorizzare
• Latin marmor
• Ancient Greek μάρμαρος (mármaros)

Usage notes

Di marmo describes a heartless person (un cuore di marmo) or limbs heavy or frozen stiff;^[10][9][11] scolpito nel marmo is said of words or events that will not be forgotten.^[10][9][11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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 Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 9, 822
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana