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orlo

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word orlo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1306 Giordano da Pisa, Quaresimale fiorentino More words from the 14th century
Inherited from
Latin *orulus
Ultimate origin
Latin ōs

Pronunciation

Forms

orlo m (plural orli, diminutive orlétto or orlìno, augmentative orlóne, pejorative orlàccio)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *orulus, a diminutive of Latin ōra (“edge, border; coast”) or of its Late Latin variant ōrum.[2][3][4][1] The vowel after the stress was lost.[5] Nocentini notes that this variant is confirmed by its Romance descendants: Old French our, Occitan or, Romansh ur, Friulian or and Sardinian óru.[3]

The Latin noun is in turn a derivative of ōs (“mouth”), with a change of declension; the meaning passed from “mouth” to “edge” through the opening of a vessel or the lips of a wound, according to Nocentini.[3][6] DELI suggests instead that the neuter plural of the same word first meant the mouths of a river and then its bank.[2]

The same word is Old French orle, Occitan orle, and Spanish has the feminine orla.[3][7] The verb orlare is traced to a Vulgar Latin *orulō.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Giordano da Pisa's Florentine Lenten sermons of 1306, where the Pharisees wear large fringes, cioè gli orli alle toniche, “that is, hems on their tunics”.[8][9]

Semantic evolution

Dante (1300–1313) uses the word for the outer edge or line where something begins or ends, including the edge of the burning sand in Hell, and for the end of life.[2][10][4] Old Italian already applied it to the bank of a body of water, the rim of a vessel up to which goods were measured, and to a strip of cloth sewn on as an ornament.[8]

The figurative sull'orlo of ruin, madness or the grave expresses that something is about to happen.[4][11][12] In architecture orlo was the square plinth of a column (1570); the term passed into English (before 1639) and French (orle, 1645).[13]

Timeline

  • 1300–1313 – Dante uses orlo for the outer edge.[2]
  • 1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses it for the hem of a tunic.[8][2]
  • Before 1311 – The verb orlare is recorded.[2][3]
  • 1570 – Orlo “plinth” is recorded in architecture.[13]
  • Before 1639 – English borrows orlo as an architectural term.[13]
  • 1645 – French orle in architecture is recorded.[13]
  • 1891 – Orlatore “person who hems” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The outer edge of a surface or object; rim, brim: pieno fino all'orlo.[4][11][12]
  2. A hem: the edge of a fabric folded over and sewn so that it does not fray: accorciare l'orlo della gonna.[4][5][1]
  3. A strip of fabric, fur or similar material sewn along an edge as a trimming.[4][14]
  4. (figurative) The brink, the verge of something extreme: sull'orlo del collasso.[4][11][12]
  5. (metalworking) The folded and flattened edge of a metal sheet.[4][12]
  6. (nautical) The edge of a boat.[4]
  7. (literary) The end of a period: l'orlo della vita (Dante).[4][11]
  8. (heraldry) An orle.[1]

Word family

  • orlare
  • orlatura
  • orlatrice
  • orlatore
  • orletto
  • orale
  • Latin ōra
  • French ourlet

Usage notes

Essere sull'orlo del precipizio means to be in desperate straits, and essere sull'orlo della fossa to be close to death.[4][12] Orlo a giorno is a hemstitch made by drawing out threads, and orlo arrotolato a very fine rolled hem.[10][12] The verb orlare means to hem.[2]

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 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 f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  8. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  9. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  10. ^ a b 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 d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  12. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ a b c d Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Orlo.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/orlo. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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