nasello

nasello¹ hake

Etymology tree of nasello¹

inherited borrowed derived

Latin asinus

French âne

Italian asino

Spanish asno

Latin asellus

Italian nasello

From the same root · nasello¹

English easel ← asinus

Latin asinārius ← asinus

Pronunciation

• /naˈzɛl.lo/^[1]

Forms

nasello m (plural naselli)^[1]

Etymology

The word for the hake is borrowed from Latin asellus (“little donkey; a fish”), with an /n/ taken from the indefinite article un and kept through the influence of naso (“nose”).^[2][3][4][5] DELI and Zingarelli call it a popular-etymological overlap of the word for the nose on the Latin word, and Sabatini and GDLI tie it to the fish's long snout;^{[4][6][7][8][5][1]} GRADIT and Wiktionary give that influence only as possible.^{[4][6][7][8][5][1]}

Latin asellus is the diminutive of asinus (“ass, donkey”).^[4][2][9] As a fish name it is in Varro already, translating Ancient Greek ὀνίσκος (onískos), which meant both a little donkey and a fish;^[3][2][10] Nocentini notes the usual habit of naming sea animals after land animals.^[3][2][10] Italian kept the Latin word as a learned asello and, with the article, as the word for the hake.^[11] De Vaan sees asinus as a recent loanword in Latin, since it keeps an /s/ between vowels.^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

The LEI's first record is in the Nomenclator of 1560, for the sea fish Merluccius merluccius.^[11] DELI dates nasello to 1684, in Redi, and the form asello to before 1609, in G. C. Croce; the LEI has asello from 1592.^[4][11]

Semantic evolution

Redi lists the fish among those whose swim bladder is hidden in the gut, nell'anguille, nei gronghi, ne' naselli.^[8][13] The learned asello stayed in the dictionaries until the 20th century.^[11] The word spread along the coasts: the LEI records Sanremese nasélu, Genoese nasello, Corsican naséllu and Brindisi nasieddu, and DEI asinél at Fiume.^[11][14] In some regions the fish is called merluzzo, and Artusi's cookbook has a nasello alla palermitana.^[15][8]

Timeline

• 1560 – The Nomenclator has nasello.^[11]
• 1592 – Asello is recorded for the fish.^[11]
• 1684 – Redi uses nasello.^[4][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Hake (Merluccius merluccius): a sea fish of the cod order, silvery white below and dark above, prized for its delicate white flesh.^{[5][15][6][1]}

nasello² catch, small projection

Etymology tree of nasello²

inherited borrowed derived

Latin nāsus

French nez

Italian naso

Italian nasello

Romanian nas

Spanish naso

From the same root · nasello²

Latin nāsālis ← nāsus

Latin nāsūtus ← nāsus

Pronunciation

• /naˈzɛl.lo/^[1]

Forms

nasello m (plural naselli)^[1]

Etymology

The word for the small projection is from Italian naso (“nose”) + -ello, a diminutive of the word for the nose.^{[5][2][7][16][1]} The base noun is from Latin nasus.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Jacopo della Lana's Bolognese commentary on the Purgatorio (1324–1328), where nasello is a person with a small nose.^[16] Buti, commenting on the same canto, explains that King Philip of France was nasello because he had a small nose.^[13]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century C. Bartoli, translating Alberti's treatise on architecture, used naselli for small spouts or vents on a chimney head.^[14][13] The mechanical sense, the iron on a door post that receives the latch, dates from 1804, and GRADIT has 1834.^{[2][15][7][6][5]} In the 19th century the word also named the wedge of a bow and the nasiera (1840), the iron pincers fitted to an ox's nostrils.^[14][4][13]

Timeline

• 1324–1328 – Jacopo della Lana uses nasello for a person with a small nose.^[16]
• 16th century – C. Bartoli uses it for a vent or spout in architecture.^[14]
• 1804 – The mechanical sense is recorded.^[2][15][7]
• 1840 – Nasello “nose ring for oxen” is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (mechanics) A small tooth or projection on a fixed or moving part that rests on a counterpart to make a joint or a stop; in particular, the catch on a door post into which a latch drops (also monachetto).^{[5][15][7][17]}
2. (music) The wedge of the bow of a stringed instrument.^{[5][7][17][18]}
3. Part of the bolt of a carbine.^[6][18]
4. The nosepiece of a pair of glasses.^[6][1]
5. A nasiera, the iron pincers fitted to an ox's nostrils to lead it.^[18][13]