pabbio

Forms

pabbio m (plural pabbi)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pābulum (“fodder, pasture”).^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][1]} It is a word of popular tradition beside the learned pabulo.^[5][1] The GDLI places it in central and northern Italy.^[7]

The same Latin word survives in the dialects as Piedmontese and Milanese pabi, Lombard pabion, Trentino pàbol, and in Romansh pevel and Catalan pavol.^[8][9] The Latin noun is formed from the root of pāscō (“to feed, pasture”) with the suffix -bulum.^[2][10][1] De Vaan derives it from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-dʰlo-, from the root Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to protect, herd”).^[11][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DEI's first record is in Targioni Tozzetti, in 1802, as the common name of hair grasses (Aira flexuosa and Aira caryophyllea) and of two species of Setaria used as fodder.^[8] GRADIT, Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date it to 1813.^[3][2][4]

Semantic evolution

Targioni Tozzetti describes the plant as an annual with bristle-like leaves and a spreading panicle, growing in dry places and on old walls, and notes that its silvery glumes were once used to make small brushes.^[7][12] DEI also gives the sense “fodder crop” and an 18th-century use for Panicum capillare.^[8]

Modern dictionaries mark it as regional or technical, a name for grasses of the genera Aira and Setaria that cattle like to eat.^{[3][5][6][13]}

Timeline

• 1802 – Targioni Tozzetti records pabbio.^[8]
• 1813 – The date GRADIT and Nocentini give for the first record.^[3][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (botany, regional) A name for several wild grasses of the genera Aira and Setaria, common in fields and eaten by livestock as fodder.^{[3][4][5][6][13][1]}
2. (regional) A fodder crop of maize, barley, rye and oats.^[8][14]

Related words

• pabulo
• pascere
• pascolo
• Latin pabulum

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2713
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 720