mignano

Forms

mignano m (plural mignani)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin maenianum (“balcony, projecting upper storey”), a central and southern Italian word.^[2][3][1] The learned doublet is meniano.^[3][4]

The Latin word is made from the name Maenius with the suffix -ānus, after the censor Gaius Maenius, who was the first to build such balconies around the Roman forum.^[5][1][6] GRADIT dates his loggias for the spectators of the games to 338 BC.^[3] Prati says the 4th century BC and Zingarelli the 3rd century BC.^[7][8] Festus explains that they were named after the censor, who first set beams projecting beyond the columns in the forum to enlarge the upper seats.^[5]

French borrowed the Latin word as French méniane in 1676.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DEI's first record is from Rome in 1447, for a balcony, especially one over a courtyard.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Muratori wrote that the balconies of the Latins were still called mignani in Rome;^[9] Milizia, the 18th-century architect, says the ancients knew mignani as continuous balconies, terraces or loggias.^[9] In the 19th century D’Azeglio wrote from Rocca di Papa: Siamo a Rocca di Papa sul mio mignano, dal quale si domina l’intero Lazio (“We are at Rocca di Papa on my balcony, from which one overlooks the whole of Lazio”).^[9] In the south the word took other senses: Sicilian mignanu is a hanging garden, and Calabrian mignanu or vignanu the landing of an outside staircase.^[7] In Italian it stayed a Roman word, for the outside balconies and walkways of houses, especially those over the courtyard;^[10][8][4] Treccani describes them as a thing of the past.^[10][8][4]

Timeline

• 1447 – Mignano is recorded at Rome.^[2]
• 1676 – French méniane is recorded.^[2]
• 1700s – Devoto–Oli's date for the word.^[10]
• Before 1750 – GRADIT's date.^[3]
• 1837 – Zingarelli's date.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (regional, Rome) A balcony, especially one over an inner courtyard.^{[3][10][8][1]}
2. (regional, Rome) A gallery or walkway along the outside of a house.^[3][6]

Related words

• meniano
• Latin maenianum

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2457
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 Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
7. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 662
8. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
10. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier