Etymologically
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maschio

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Pronunciation

Forms

maschio m (plural maschi, diminutive maschiétto or maschiétta f (“tomboy”), augmentative maschiòtto or maschióne or maschiòtta f (“beautiful but butch girl”) or maschióna f (“masculine woman”), pejorative maschiàccio)[1] The popular Tuscan form is mastio, and old forms include mascolo, masculo and màsgio.[2][3][4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin masclus, the contracted form of Latin masculus (“male”).[6][1] DELI and Nocentini give the source as masculus, an adjective that later became a noun.[7][8] It is a diminutive of mās (“male”), which it replaced because the longer word was more serviceable than the monosyllable.[7][9][1] The origin of mās is unknown: Nocentini finds no sure comparisons, and Devoto calls it a very old word without Indo-European connections.[8][10]

The Latin word is pan-Romance: French mâle, Occitan mascle, Catalan mascle, Spanish macho, Portuguese macho, Sardinian masciu (“ram”) and Romanian mascur (“boar”).[8][11] Sabatini explains ⟨maschio⟩ and ⟨mastio⟩ by the loss of the vowel after the stress and the palatalization of the resulting cluster /kl/.[3] The learned doublets are mascolo and masculo.[1]

DELI connects the technical senses (the tool, the projecting part that fits a socket) with the sense “pig” or simply “male element” that the word has in several dialects.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294, uses it as an adjective of a son: a woman rejoices in bearing maschio bel figlio, a fine male child.[7][4] Dante uses the noun in the Commedia (1300–1313) for the male of a species, and in 1313–1319 he also uses the adjective in the sense “manly, strong”.[7][12]

Semantic evolution

From the 14th century the noun was used of boys and men, as in the Italian Bible translations, and old texts use it of male birds and plants.[7][4][13] Petrarch's ogni maschio pensier, “every manly thought”, shows the adjective's sense of strength and resolve.[12][14]

Several technical senses grew from the 15th and 16th centuries: the principal tower of a castle (before 1502, Francesco di Giorgio Martini), the relief die that strikes the hollow of a mould (before 1537, Biringuccio) and the cutting tool for threading holes (before 1597, Soderini).[7][5] A part that fits into a matching hollow is still called maschio and the hollow femmina.[6][14]

The diminutive maschietto “baby boy” is recorded in Nievo (1856), and maschietta, a girl of free and easy manners, came into use about 1925 as a rendering of French garçonne.[7] Maschilismo, male chauvinism, was coined from maschile on the model of femminismo and is recorded before 1937 in Gramsci.[7][8]

Timeline

  • Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses maschio as an adjective.[7][6]
  • 1300–1313 – Dante uses the noun for the male of a species.[7]
  • 14th century – The sense “boy, man” appears in the Bible translations.[7]
  • Before 1502 – Francesco di Giorgio Martini uses it for the keep of a castle.[7]
  • Before 1537 – Biringuccio uses it for the relief die of a mould.[7]
  • Before 1597 – Soderini uses it for the threading tool.[7]
  • 1856 – Ippolito Nievo uses maschietto “baby boy”.[7]
  • c. 1925 – Maschietta comes into use for a boyish girl.[7]
  • Before 1937 – Gramsci uses maschilismo.[7][8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A male person, a boy or a man, especially as opposed to a daughter: Hanno tre figli, tutti maschi.[6][2][14]
  2. A male animal: il maschio del leone.[6][2]
  3. (biology) In species with separate sexes, the individual that produces the male gametes.[6][2][14]
  4. (humorous) A strong, virile man.[2][14]
  5. (mechanics) A tap, the tool for cutting a thread inside a hole.[6][2][14]
  6. (technology) The part of a joint or connector that fits into a matching hollow, called the femmina.[6][2][14]
  7. (building) The continuous part of a retaining wall between the buttresses, against the bank of earth.[6][2][14]
  8. (architecture) The keep, the main tower of a medieval castle or fortress.[6][2][3]

Adjective

  1. Male; with animal names that have one form for both sexes it is used invariably: un gatto maschio.[6][15]
  2. Manly, virile, vigorous: una stretta di mano maschia.[6][3][14]
  3. (botany) Of a plant species or variety, the more robust or valued one beside a related one, as in felce maschio.[6]
  4. (football) Of play, aggressive and rough.[6][15]

Word family

  • maschiare
  • maschiatura
  • maschietta
  • maschietto
  • maschile
  • maschilismo
  • mascolinità
  • mascolinizzare
  • mascolino
  • maschiaccio
  • maschilista
  • maschiamente
  • maschiezza

Usage notes

Auguri e figli maschi! is a traditional wish to newlyweds, and salute e figli maschi! is said to someone who sneezes.[14][15][16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  4. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  5. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2382
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  11. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  12. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  13. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 643
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  15. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  16. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli