nano

Forms

nano m (feminine nana, masculine plural nani, feminine plural nane)^[1] Old Italian also has nan and nanu.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin nānus (“dwarf”), from Ancient Greek νᾶνος (nânos), also νάννος (nánnos).^[3][4][5][1] Varro is the first Latin writer to use the word, which took the place of the native pūmiliō.^[6][7] DELI calls the Greek word of uncertain origin, and Nocentini a word of children's speech.^[3][4]

The word is pan-Romance except in Romanian: French nain, Old Occitan na, Catalan nan, Spanish enano and Portuguese anão.^[6][4][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Restoro d'Arezzo in 1282, in the sense “of very low stature”.^[2][9] Dante's Convivio (1304–08) has the noun, saying that to call a man noble who is unworthy of his family “non è altro che chiamare lo nano gigante” (is nothing but calling the dwarf a giant).^[3][10]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used nano figuratively for something of low value.^[2] From the 16th century the adjective was applied to plants (in Soderini), to animals and in architecture.^[6] Tommaseo lists gallina nana, melo nano and fico nano for breeds that stay below their normal size.^[10] Diminutives such as nanerello and naneròttolo are recorded from the 16th century,^[6] and the medical nanismo, dwarfism, from 1851–60.^[3]

Astronomy took up stella nana for a star smaller and fainter than the Sun, and later nana bianca and pianeta nano.^[9][11] The dwarfs of Germanic folklore, such as the seven dwarfs of Snow White, are also nani.^[5][11]

Timeline

• 1282 – Restoro d'Arezzo uses nano.^[2]
• 1304–1308 – Dante opposes nano and gigante in the Convivio.^[3][10]
• 16th century – Nanerello and naneròttolo are recorded, and nano is used of plants and animals.^[6]
• 1851–1860 – Nanismo is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of a person, affected by dwarfism; by extension, very short.^[5][12]
2. Of an animal or plant, much smaller than others of its species, by disease or by breeding: un melo nano.^[5][13]
3. Of a thing, smaller than usual.^[12][13]
4. (astronomy) Of a star, smaller and less bright than the Sun: stella nana.^[9][14]

Noun

1. A person with dwarfism; by extension, a very short person; a dwarf.^[5][9]
2. In folklore and mythology, especially Germanic, a tiny, old-looking being living in woods and caves.^[5][11]
3. (figurative, derogatory) A person of little intellectual or moral worth.^[5][13]

Word family

• nanismo
• nanerottolo
• nanetto
• nanerello
• nanesco

Related words

• Latin nanus
• French nain
• Spanish enano

Usage notes

As a noun it is often contrasted with gigante, as already in Dante.^[10][11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2544
7. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 690
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
12. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli