nocciola

Forms

nocciola f (plural nocciole)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *nuceŏla, a feminine diminutive of Latin nuceus (“of a nut tree”), the adjective of nux (“nut”).^{[2][3][4][1][5]} The GDLI compares fāgeus, the adjective of fāgus, which gave faggio.^[6] Devoto explains the double consonant from an unrecorded Italian adjective continuing the Latin one, with the consonant doubled right after the stress.^[7]

The dialects have Ligurian nisêua, Sicilian nuzzola, Venetian noxeła and Romansh nitschola, and French noisette can be compared.^[1][8] Meyer-Lübke noted that the word spread further and further north in place of corylus (“hazel”).^[8]

Nocentini traces the Latin noun to Proto-Indo-European *kneu-, a root of western Indo-European, and compares Old Irish cnú and the Germanic word behind German Nuss and the English word nut.^[3] De Vaan, noting the root's odd shape and its spread only in Italic, Celtic and Germanic, takes it as a non-Indo-European loanword.^[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini dates the word to 1225.^[3] DELI's first record is nocciuola in Aldobrandino da Siena (1309), and nocciola appears before 1348 in Giovanni Villani, in the sense “hazelnut”.^[2][9] Boccaccio has Calandrino shed tears as big as hazelnuts (cominciò a gittar le lagrime che parevan nocciuole sì eran grosse).^[6][10]

Semantic evolution

Old and dialect variants include nicciola and nicciuola in western Tuscany and the south, and nizzola in the north.^[6] The tree, nocciuolo, is recorded in Boccaccio in 1353, and the nutcracker bird nocciolaia in 1803.^[2]

The colour sense, light brown like the shell, is dated 1869 by DELI and the noun use 1833 by Sabatini–Coletti; in it the word is invariable (occhi nocciola).^[2][11][4] Nocciolina americana, the peanut, is recorded in 1908 from the cries of Roman street vendors, nocciolina alone in 1923, and nocciolato, chocolate with hazelnuts, in 1966.^[2][3] Nocciole di terra are the edible tubers of the sweet cipero.^[12][10]

Timeline

• 1225 – first record according to Nocentini.^[3]
• 1309 – Aldobrandino da Siena writes nocciuola.^[2]
• Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani writes nocciola.^[2]
• 1353 – Boccaccio names the tree, nocciuolo.^[2]
• 1803 – nocciolaia, the nutcracker bird, is recorded.^[2]
• 1833 – the noun for the colour is recorded.^[11]
• 1908 – nocciolina americana “peanut” is recorded in Rome.^[2]
• 1966 – nocciolato is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A hazelnut, the fruit of the nocciolo and its edible seed, eaten fresh or dried and much used in confectionery: Ha comprato un sacchetto di nocciole tostate per la torta.^[4][12][13]
2. (botany) nocciola di terra: the edible tuber of the sweet cipero.^[12][10]
3. (cooking, usually plural) A kind of soup pasta in large curved tubes.^[12]
4. (masculine, invariable) hazel, the light brown colour of the shell.^[4][9][11]

Adjective

1. (invariable, after the noun) Hazel, light brown: Ha gli occhi nocciola.^[4][9][12]

Word family

• nocciolo
• nocciolaia
• nocciolina
• nocciolato
• noccioleto
• noccioletta

Related words

• noce
• Latin nux

Usage notes

The literary form is nocciuola.^[12][10] The fruit is also called avellana.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ 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. 11, 472
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ 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)
11. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
12. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana