nespolo

Forms

nespolo m (plural nespoli)^[1] Old Italian has the forms nespolo, nespoli and nésporo.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin mĕspilum (also mespilus), the medlar tree or its fruit.^{[3][4][5][1][6]} Latin borrowed the word from Ancient Greek μέσπιλον (méspilon), which DELI and the Zingarelli take to be of pre-Indo-European origin.^[3][7][6][1]

The initial /m/ became /n/ by dissimilation from the /p/ later in the word, through a popular form Vulgar Latin *nespilus.^[4][5][8][9] Sabatini–Coletti also notes that the /i/ of the middle syllable turned into /o/ before /l/ in this word stressed on the third syllable from the end, and Wiktionary compares the same /o/ in -evole.^[10][1]

Nocentini notes that in Greek and Latin the name of the fruit came first and that of the tree from it, as often for plants that are not native;^[4] Italian nespola continues a Vulgar Latin *nespila, a neuter plural taken as a feminine singular.^[4] The same word is French nèfle, Catalan nespla, Spanish níspero and Portuguese nêspera.^[4][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

A place name Nespolo is recorded in 1071 in the Arno valley.^[9] The TLIO's first record of the common noun is in the Florentine Santà of Zucchero, 1310, and DELI dates the tree from the Italian translation of Crescenzi, around 1350.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian nespolo named both the tree and its fruit, and was used in sayings: non valere un nespolo, to be worth nothing, and com'è diviso il nespolo dal pero, as different as the medlar from the pear.^[2] The fruit is now nespola, which from Luca Pulci, before 1470, also means a blow.^[3]

The nespolo del Giappone is the loquat, brought to Italy in the 19th century;^[12][3] DELI dates nespola del Giappone from 1869.^[12][3]

Timeline

• 1071 – A place called Nespolo is recorded.^[9]
• 1310 – Zucchero's Santà has the first record of nespolo.^[2]
• About 1350 – The Italian Crescenzi uses nespolo and nespola.^[3]
• Before 1470 – Luca Pulci uses nespola for a blow.^[3]
• 1869 – Nespola del Giappone is recorded in Tommaseo–Bellini.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (botany) The medlar (Mespilus germanica), a shrub or small tree of the rose family with oblong leaves, white flowers and brown fruits eaten when very ripe.^{[5][8][13][1]}
2. (botany) nespolo del Giappone: the loquat (Eriobotrya japonica), an evergreen tree from China and Japan grown for its yellow fruit.^{[5][8][13][1]}

Word family

• nespola

Related words

• Latin mespilum
• French nèfle

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 g h i 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 d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 696
10. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
12. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
13. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)