matita

Forms

matita f (plural matite)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin haematītēs, the Latin name of the red iron ore ematite.^[2][3][4][5] Rods of the mineral were once used to draw and write.^[1][2] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek αἱματίτης (haimatítēs), short for “blood stone”, from αἷμα (haîma, “blood”).^[2][4][5]

DELI, Devoto and the GDLI start from Latin lapis (“stone”) haematitos, “stone of hematite”, a genitive phrase that was understood as noun and adjective.^[4][6][7] Sabatini–Coletti and the Treccani derive the word by loss of the first vowel from the older amatita or amatite.^[8][9][6] Salvini, quoted in Tommaseo, explained that loss as an elision after the article, as in old pistola for epistola.^[10] The name of the mineral is the same Latin word, borrowed again in the 14th century.^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Ariosto, before 1533: La matita prendere / potete, e notar questo (“You may take the pencil and note this down”).^[4][7][10] The thing meant was a drawing stick, first of hematite and later also of graphite, charcoal or coloured clay.^[7]

Semantic evolution

DEI records the word in the sense “hematite” from the 14th century, and ties the pencil of graphite in a wooden case to the graphite mines found in Cumberland in 1565.^[11] The GDLI dates the modern form, a lead in a coloured wooden casing, to the end of the 18th century.^[7] Renaissance writers on art paired it with charcoal and chalk: la matita e 'l gesso (“the pencil and the chalk”).^[10] A holder for it, the matitatoio, is recorded in 1634.^[11]

In the 20th century the name spread to other stick-shaped things: cosmetic pencils for the eyes and lips, and the styptic matita emostatica, both recorded in 1957.^[4] By metonymy matita also names a cartoonist, especially a satirical one.^[3][9] The word was borrowed into Armenian as մատիտ (matit).^[1]

Timeline

• 14th century – The word is recorded in the sense “hematite”.^[11]
• 1528 – Zingarelli's date for the word.^[12]
• Before 1533 – Ariosto uses matita for a drawing and writing stick.^[4][3]
• 1634 – Matitatoio, a pencil holder, is recorded.^[11]
• Late 18th century – The pencil takes its present form, with a wooden casing.^[7]
• 1957 – Cosmetic pencils and the styptic matita emostatica are recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. pencil: a thin stick of graphite or coloured paste in a wooden casing, used for writing and drawing: ho sottolineato le frasi a matita.^{[3][13][12][1]}
2. (metonymy) A cartoonist or illustrator, especially of satirical cartoons.^[3][13][9]
3. A cosmetic or medicinal product in pencil form: an eye or lip pencil, or a styptic pencil (matita emostatica).^[3][12][13]

Word family

• matitatoio

Related words

• ematite
• amatita
• lapis
• Latin haematites

Usage notes

Lapis is a synonym.^[12][8] A matita means “in pencil”, and a matita automatica is a mechanical pencil, whose lead is pushed forward by a button.^[5][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
6. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
10. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2390
12. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli