moccolo

Forms

moccolo m (plural moccoli)^[1]

Etymology

It is a diminutive, from Italian mocco + -olo, from Vulgar Latin *muccus, a variant of Latin mūcus (“mucus, snot”).^[2][3][4][5] Nocentini calls it a Romance formation, Wiktionary an inherited Vulgar Latin diminutive *mucculus.^[4][1] The variant with a short vowel and a double consonant is the source of Romanian muc, Sardinian mukku, Old Occitan moc, Catalan moc and Spanish moco.^[6] Its plural also gave Italian moccio.^[6]

The candle senses come from the drip of wax on a burning candle, compared to the drip from the nose, whence the stub of a candle.^[4] The sense “oath, curse” is probably a euphemism from the phrase for lighting a candle: an ironic reference to an act of devotion for a blasphemous one.^[4][7][8]

mūcus is traced by de Vaan to Proto-Indo-European *(s)me/ouk-o- (“snot”), beside the root of Latin mungō (“to wipe the nose”), though he notes that the two may not belong together.^[9] The form with ⟨ó⟩ is from Pisa, Pistoia and Lucca.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Boccaccio's Decameron (1348–1353) has the first record: a priest brings the women of his parish holy water and now and then alcun moccolo di candela, some candle end.^[2][10] DELI gives the sense there as the lump of wax that forms on a burning candle.^[2]

Semantic evolution

By the end of the 14th century Sacchetti used the word for what is left of a candle that has largely burnt down, and it came to name any small candle, especially those lit as a vow or at tombs.^[2][10] In old texts it also meant the tip of the nose.^[11][3][12] The sense “snot” is recorded from before 1492 (Bellincioni).^[2]

The sense “curse, blasphemy” is recorded from 1791, and Fanfani's Tuscan vocabulary of 1863 explains the phrases tirare and attaccare un moccolo, to swear.^[2] Prati and DEI place it in 19th-century Tuscany and the North (Pananti).^[11][7] Reggere il moccolo, literally “to hold the candle”, came to mean being present at the meetings of two lovers.^[12][13] In Rome the last evening of Carnival was the festa dei moccoletti, when people tried to keep their own small candle alight and blow out everyone else's.^[12]

Timeline

• 1348–1353 – Boccaccio's Decameron uses moccolo of a piece of candle.^[2][14]
• Before 1400 – Franco Sacchetti uses the word for a candle end.^[2]
• Before 1492 – Bellincioni uses moccolo for snot.^[2]
• 15th century – Smoccolare, to trim candles, is first recorded.^[4]
• 1791 – The sense “oath, blasphemy” is first recorded.^[2]
• 1863 – Fanfani records tirare and attaccare un moccolo, to swear.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A candle, especially a short or small one: Accese un moccolo davanti all'altare.^[3][13][12]
2. A candle-end, the stub left when a candle has mostly burnt down.^[3][8][5]
3. (central Italy) Wax dripping down a burning candle, or the charred knob on its wick.^[8][13][12]
4. (colloquial, humorous) snot, nasal mucus hanging from the nose.^[3][5][15]
5. (popular) A curse or blasphemy: tirare moccoli, to swear.^[3][5][8]
6. (obsolete) The tip of the nose.^[3][13][12]

Word family

• smoccolare
• smoccolatoio
• smoccolatura
• moccolaia
• moccolone

Related words

• moccio
• muco
• Latin mūcus

Usage notes

Reggere or tenere il moccolo means to be the third person present while two lovers are together.^[13][16][15] The proverb se non hai altri moccoli puoi andare a letto al buio means that without other means one has to give up.^[8][12] The stress vowel is pronounced open or closed.^[8][5][12]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2483
8. ^ 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
9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 10, 635
11. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
12. ^ a b c d e f g h Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
15. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
16. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana