orma

Forms

orma f (plural orme)^[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain, and the dictionaries disagree about the steps.^[2][3][4] Most of them trace the word to the Greek words for smell.^[5][6][1] Wiktionary takes it as inherited from Late Latin osma (“smell”), a word recorded only in glosses, perhaps through a spoken *orma, and the Latin word as from Ancient Greek ὀδμή (odmḗ, “odour, stench”), the older form of ὀσμή (osmḗ).^[1] DELI and Devoto–Oli start from the same Greek noun and assume that ⟨-sm-⟩ had already become ⟨-rm-⟩ in Latin, as Logudorese orma and Romanian urmă also require; the DES, however, takes the Sardinian word as a loan from Italian.^[5][7] In DELI's account the forms with ⟨s⟩ kept the sense “smell” and those with ⟨r⟩ came to mean a visible track, and Alessio explained this split by a crossing with Latin orbita (“wheel track”).^[5]

Treccani, Zingarelli, Gabrielli and Devoto make the noun a derivative of the verb ormare “to follow a track”.^{[8][9][10][11]} Nocentini and the REW derive that verb from Vulgar Latin *osmāre, beside *ormāre, “to sniff, follow the scent”, from ὀσμάομαι (osmáomai, “to smell”).^[6][12] The GDLI doubts this order because the verb is recorded much later than the noun, and prefers a direct link with the Greek noun.^[4]

All of them set aside ὁρμή (hormḗ, “rush, impulse”), which is close in sound but far in sense.^[5][6][4] The change of ⟨-sm-⟩ to ⟨-rm-⟩ is rare, but ciurma beside Ligurian ciùsma is a parallel.^[6][4]

Related Romance words keep the sense of smelling or tracking: Old French osmer, Spanish husmear and Portuguese husmar “to sniff”, and Italo-Romance dialect forms such as Friulian uzmà, Venetian usmar and Neapolitan osemà “to smell, sniff”.^[6][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Dante, between 1300 and 1313, for the footprint that a person or animal leaves on the ground when walking;^[5][9] Zingarelli dates the word before 1294.^[5][9] In the Tuscan translation of Palladius the trampling of beasts on wet soil leaves the field uneven with their orme.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Dante also used the word, before 1321, for an imprint or trace in a wider sense.^[5] In older poetry it could mean a single step: Petrarch writes non mossi un'orma “I did not move a step”.^[2] Old Italian sometimes made the plural órmora.^[4] To follow someone's orme meant to go after them, and later to follow their example.^[13][8]

In literary language the word is also used for the sound of footsteps.^[2][8] In the plural it names the traces a civilization or a person leaves in history.^[2][7]

Timeline

• 1300–1313 – Dante uses orma for a footprint.^[5]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for an imprint or trace.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A footprint or track: the mark left on the ground by a foot or paw: Sul fango si vedevano le orme di un cinghiale.^[2][7][3]
2. (figurative) A trace or mark left by something: un'orma profonda nella sua vita.^[2][7][9]
3. (figurative, especially in the plural) The vestiges of a civilization, an event or a person that survive in history.^[2][7]
4. (literary) A step.^[2]
5. (literary) The sound of footsteps.^[2][8]
6. seguire le orme di qualcuno: to follow someone's tracks, and figuratively their example;^[9][8][10] essere sulle orme di qualcuno: to be close on someone's trail.^[9][8][10]

Related words

• ormare
• odore
• Ancient Greek ὀσμή (osmḗ)

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
9. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
13. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET