olivo

Forms

olivo m (plural olivi)^[1] The variant ulivo is as common, and is the form Dante uses.^[2][3][4] Old forms include Old Italian aulivi and Old Italian olío.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *olīvus (“olive tree”), a masculine formed from Latin olīva (“olive; olive tree”), according to Nocentini, GRADIT (which calls it Late Latin) and the REW.^[6][7][8] Devoto–Oli, Treccani, Gabrielli and Devoto derive it in Italian from oliva, and Wiktionary allows both.^{[9][10][11][12][1]} The same Latin masculine gave Occitan oliu and Spanish olivo, which passed into Portuguese.^[6][8]

The Latin noun was taken from Ancient Greek ἐλαία (elaía), earlier *elaíwā, of the same origin as olio.^[13][6][14] Wiktionary's Latin entry routes it through Etruscan and considers a Mediterranean source most likely.^[1] DEI explains the Latin /o/ for Greek /e/ as regular before a velar /l/.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is a Florentine document of 1257, for the evergreen tree with leathery leaves and fruit in drupes.^[13] The TLIO cites Bonagiunta Orbicciani of Lucca, of the middle of the 13th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Already in Old Italian the word meant a branch, frond or garland of olive, a sign of victory or peace, and was used of the wood of the Cross.^[5] Cavalca, before 1342, tells how Christ came from Bethany to Jerusalem and was received colli ulivi, with olive branches.^[13] Dante compares a crowd to people who gather round a messenger che porta olivo, bringing news of peace.^[15][9][10]

Palm Sunday was domenica d'ulivo for A. Pucci before 1388, domenega d'olìe at Bologna in 1493 and domenica degli olivi for Carducci in 1879.^[13] The ramoscello d'olivo as a symbol of peace is in Vettori before 1585, who wrote that those who went to ask for peace carried an olive twig, and olivo benedetto, the branch blessed and given to the faithful on Palm Sunday, is recorded in 1891.^[13] The wood, hard and fine-grained, is prized for furniture.^[7][10] In 1996 l'Ulivo became the name and symbol of a centre-left alliance of parties.^[7]

Timeline

• 1257 – A Florentine document has the first record.^[13]
• Before 1342 – Cavalca uses ulivi for olive branches.^[13]
• Before 1388 – A. Pucci has domenica d'ulivo “Palm Sunday”.^[13]
• Before 1585 – Vettori uses the olive twig as a symbol of peace.^[13]
• 1891 – Olivo benedetto is recorded.^[13]
• 1996 – Ulivo becomes the name of a centre-left coalition.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. The olive tree (Olea europaea), the evergreen tree that bears olives: Sul pendio crescono vecchi olivi.^[7][9][1]
2. Olive wood, used for fine furniture.^[7][9][10]
3. An olive branch, a symbol of peace;^[7][9][10] olivo benedetto, the branch blessed on Palm Sunday.^[7][9][10]
4. (politics, as Ulivo) A centre-left coalition formed in 1996, and its symbol.^[7]
5. (literary, archaic) An olive, the fruit.^[7]

Word family

• olivello
• olivella
• olivato
• olivicoltore
• olivicoltura

Related words

• oliva
• olio
• ulivo
• Latin olīva

Usage notes

Olivo and ulivo are both standard;^[4][10] Zingarelli puts the entry under ulivo.^[4][10] Phrases include portare un ramoscello d'olivo, to offer peace, and Monte degli Olivi, the Mount of Olives.^[7][10] The GDLI records a minor homograph, an old adjective olivo “fragrant”, from olire.^[16]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2641
3. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
4. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
12. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 303
13. ^ 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
14. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
15. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
16. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 11