pacco

Forms

pacco m (plural pacchi)^[1]

Etymology

DELI thinks it very likely that the word is borrowed from Dutch pak (“bundle”), but leaves open whether the word came straight from Dutch or through other European languages.^[2] Nocentini, Devoto–Oli and Gabrielli take it from English pack, which is itself from Middle Dutch pak (“bundle, bale”).^[3][4][5] GRADIT gives the English origin only as a possibility, and Devoto–Oli, Sabatini–Coletti and GRADIT say that the Dutch word first meant a bale of wool.^[6][4][7] Prati preferred English to German Pack, although the 18th-century dictionary of D'Alberti said the bales of calfskins called by that name came from Russia.^[8] Wiktionary traces the Middle Dutch word through Old Dutch pac and Frankish *pakkō to Proto-Germanic *pakkô (“bundle”),^[1] while Zingarelli and the GDLI call the Dutch word of uncertain origin.^[9][10]

DEI sees the word as a back-formation from pacchetto, and compares the English and German words, which came from Flanders in the 12th century.^[11] DELI likewise thinks the older diminutive-looking noun helped the word into Italian.^[2] Prati found earlier forms in Florentine trade with the English: Old Italian pocca in documents from 1290 and 1442, and Old Italian pacca “bale” in the statutes of the Calimala guild (1332–1334, amended in 1435), which he took from Middle English packe or pakke.^[8] From the same Dutch source came Middle French pacque and Spanish paca (“bale”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini dates the word to 1652, as a parcel made up for shipping or carrying.^[3] DELI's first record is from 1804, in the dictionary of D'Alberti, where it is a merchants' term for a bale of twenty-two rolls of calfskins tied together without a wrapping.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

From the specialised bale of the 18th-century trade the word widened to any well-tied bundle (Prati dates this general sense to 1834), and pacco postale, a parcel sent by post, is recorded from 1881.^[8][11] Tommaseo describes a pacco as a bundle between a bale and a pacchetto in size.^[12]

In the 20th century the word gained technical senses: a stack of steel leaves in a spring, the gold leaf between sheets of parchment in gold-beating, and a unit of weight for cotton yarn.^[6][13] Slang added a swindle (rifilare un pacco), standing someone up (fare il pacco), a large amount, stolen goods and, vulgarly, the bulge of the male genitals in trousers.^[6][4][9]

Timeline

• 1652 – Nocentini's first date for pacco.^[3]
• 1804 – D'Alberti records pacco as a merchants' term for a bale of calfskins.^[2]
• 1834 – Prati's first date for the general sense “wrapped and tied bundle”.^[8]
• 1876 – Impacco “compress” is recorded.^[3]
• 1881 – Pacco postale “parcel post” is recorded.^[11][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A parcel or package: things wrapped in paper, cardboard or plastic and usually tied, for carrying, sending or keeping: Ho spedito un pacco ai nonni.^[6][4][13]
2. A set of things meant for a particular use: pacco di medicazione, a first-aid kit.^[6][7][9]
3. (colloquial) A large amount (un pacco di …).^[6][4]
4. (slang) A swindle or let-down: tirare il pacco, to stand someone up.^[6][9][5]
5. (slang) Stolen goods.^[6]
6. (vulgar) The bulge of the male genitals in trousers.^[6][4][1]
7. (technical) A stack of metal sheets or leaves, as in a leaf spring or the core of an electric machine.^[6][13]
8. In gold-beating, the gold leaves laid between sheets of parchment for the second beating.^[6][7]
9. A unit of weight for cotton yarn, ten pounds (about 4.5 kg).^[6][7]

Word family

• impaccare
• impacco
• impaccatura

Related words

• impacchettare
• pacchetto
• paccottiglia
• paccottaglia
• English pack

Usage notes

Common compounds are pacco postale, pacco regalo, pacco dono, pacco viveri and pacco bomba, and carta da pacchi is brown wrapping paper.^[6][4][9] DEI and the GDLI also list a pacco that is an old name of the alpaca (from 1610, Carletti) and an old variant of palco “scaffold”.^[11][10]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e f Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 721
9. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 12, 317
11. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2714
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)