Etymologically
Log in

muro

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 21:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

Forms

muro m (plural muri m or (collectively, when referring to the walls of a town, castle, etc.) mura f)[1] The plural is muri and, for the walls of a town or of a house taken together, mura (feminine).[2][3][4] Old Italian also had muru and a plural mure.[5][6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin mūrus (“wall, city wall”).[7][8][9] The word is panromance: French mur, Occitan mur, Catalan mur, Spanish muro, Portuguese muro, Sardinian muru, Dalmatian mor and Aromanian mur.[8][10] From Romance it was borrowed into the South Slavic languages as Serbo-Croatian mir and Slovene mir, found in place names.[11]

The older Latin spelling was moerus or moirus, from Proto-Italic *moiros.[12][13] De Vaan derives it from Proto-Indo-European *(H)moi-ro- (“building”), and Nocentini connects it, like moenia (“city walls”) (the source of munire), with the root Proto-Indo-European *mei- of Sanskrit मिनोति (minoti, “fixes a post in the ground”), a word from the building of palisades.[12][8] DELI, however, calls the Latin word of unknown origin.[7] The Latin compound pōmērium (“strip of land round the walls”) is from a phrase meaning “behind the wall”.[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Brunetto Latini, before 1294, for a structure built of bricks or stones laid one on another.[7] Bono Giamboni has the transferred sense “shelter, defence” before 1292.[7]

Semantic evolution

The collective plural mura was used for the walls round a town, recorded in Dino Compagni (1310–1312), and in the 10th century the form was already used as a feminine singular.[7][11] Boccaccio tells of two houses divided “only by a very thin wall” (da un sottilissimo muro).[6] The sense “barrier, obstacle” is recorded in the 14th century, and the figurative use for anything as dense or compact as a wall in 1891.[7]

Latin derivatives came down with the word: muraglia continues the neuter plural of mūrālis, and murare the Late Latin verb mūrō, from which came muratore, recorded in 1250.[7] The modern language uses muro in sport for a jump in show jumping, a steep stretch of a ski run or a hard climb in cycling, and in volleyball for a block.[9][2] Proverbs and phrases include anche i muri hanno orecchie, “even the walls have ears”, and mettere al muro, to execute by firing squad.[14][4]

Timeline

  • 10th century – The plural mura is used as a feminine singular.[11]
  • 1250 – Muratore “mason” is recorded in Ugieri Apugliese.[7]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses muro for a defence.[7]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses muro for a wall.[7]
  • 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni uses mura for the walls of a city.[7]
  • 1891 – Petrocchi records the figurative sense “something dense like a wall”.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A wall, a structure of bricks or stones, usually joined with mortar, whose height and length are greater than its thickness: Hanno appeso il quadro al muro del soggiorno.[9][14][2]
  2. (plural mura) The walls of a town or a fortress; also the walls of a house, as a place of shelter.[9][4]
  3. Something that blocks the way like a wall: un muro di fumo.[9][2]
  4. (figurative) An obstacle, a barrier: un muro di diffidenza.[9][2]
  5. (sports) A wall-like obstacle in show jumping, a very steep stretch in skiing, a hard climb in cycling, and in volleyball a block.[9][2]

Word family

  • muraglia
  • muraglione
  • murale
  • murare
  • muratore
  • muratura
  • murario
  • murata
  • muretto
  • muricciolo
  • muraiola

Usage notes

Set phrases include muro a secco, a dry-stone wall, con le spalle al muro, with one's back to the wall, and il muro del pianto, the Western Wall in Jerusalem.[3][14][4]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  3. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  5. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 11, 105
  6. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  11. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2533
  12. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  13. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  14. ^ 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