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pallone

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word pallone

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1555 More words from the 16th century
Ultimate origin
Lombardic *palla
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Italian palla
Spanish bala
Italian pallone

Pronunciation

  • /palˈlo.ne/[1]

Forms

pallone m (plural palloni)[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian palla (“ball”) + -one, an augmentative.[2][3][4][5][1]

DELI and Nocentini derive the base noun from a Germanic word: it is from Lombardic *palla: its /p/ shows the High German consonant shift, while balla reflects an earlier Germanic layer with /b/, corresponding to Frankish *balla (“sack, bale”).[2][3] The LEI weighs other views: Meyer-Lübke, Merlo and Hubschmid defend a Germanic root, while Sganzini thought a very old Alpine substrate base, reshaped by association with the Germanic word, more likely, and Kuen and Kramer doubted that a feminine Old High German balla existed at all.[6] Wiktionary and Etymonline trace the Germanic word to Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to blow, swell”).[1][7]

In aeronautics, the name of the sounding balloon is a calque of French ballon-sonde, and that of the kite balloon a calque of German Drachenballon.[8][9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the word to 1555, and DIFIT records that year a game in which the ball was struck with a wooden armlet, the bracciale.[3][5][11] DELI's first record is in G. B. Ramusio, 1565, for a large leather ball filled with air.[2] An early account of fishermen of the valleys of Ica, quoted by the GDLI, compares a blown-up skin to un pallone di vento (“a wind-filled ball”).[12]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th and 17th centuries the pallone was above all the ball of games: G. de' Bardi describes the Florentine calcio as a game in which two teams try to drive un mediocre pallone a vento (“a middling wind-filled ball”) past the opposite goal.[12] The pallone col bracciale stayed popular in Tuscany, Piedmont, the Marche and Romagna.[10] From the early 17th century the word also named a round glass vessel, in Delle Colombe.[2]

With the first balloons it named the aerostat: pallone aerostatico in 1783, pallone volante in 1784, and pallone alone in 1791.[2] In 1797 D'Alberti noted that pallone volante was the everyday name.[2][9] The 20th century added the barrage and observation balloons of the First World War, the dome that covers a sports ground, and, by antonomasia, football itself.[10][4][12]

Figurative uses grew from the inflated ball: pallone gonfiato is a puffed-up person of no worth, and andare nel pallone is to lose one's head.[13][5][14] In central and southern dialects pallone is a tall tale or a boast, whence pallonaro, a teller of tall tales.[9] In botany pallone di maggio is the guelder rose, named for its round flower heads.[9][14]

English took the Italian word for the game as English balloon in the 1570s, perhaps partly through French ballon;[7] French had the word in the 16th century.[7] Wiktionary takes the French word from Italian through northern variants, while Meyer-Lübke listed it as a French derivative of balle.[1][15] DIFIT dates English pallone, for the Italian game, from 1608, DEI from 1865.[11][9]

Timeline

  • 1555 – First record, for the game played with the bracciale.[3][11]
  • 1565 – G. B. Ramusio uses pallone for a large ball filled with air.[2]
  • 1570s – English balloon is first recorded, for the game.[7]
  • Early 17th century – L. Delle Colombe uses it for a round glass vessel.[2]
  • 1608 – English pallone is first recorded.[11]
  • 1729 – Pallone di maggio is recorded for the guelder rose (Micheli).[9]
  • 1783 – Pallone aerostatico appears in the Notizie del mondo.[2]
  • 1784 – Pallone volante is recorded.[9]
  • 1791 – Pallone alone means an aerostat.[2]
  • 1916 – Pallone drago is recorded in aeronautics.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A large ball inflated with air, of a size and material that depend on the game: pallone da calcio, pallone da rugby.[4][5][16]
  2. By antonomasia, football (calcio): Il sabato giochiamo a pallone nel cortile.[4][16][10]
  3. (football) A piece of play, a ball played: Ha sprecato un pallone facile davanti alla porta.[4]
  4. (aeronautics) A balloon, an aerostat with no engine, filled with a gas lighter than air.[4][16][10]
  5. An air-supported dome over an outdoor sports ground; also the ground so covered.[4][16][12]
  6. (chemistry) A round glass flask with a neck, used in laboratories and for distillation.[4][16][14]
  7. (nautical) A ball-shaped distance signal; a round fender.[4][16]
  8. (popular) A scrotal hernia.[4][16]

Word family

  • palloncino
  • pallonetto
  • pallonata
  • pallonaio
  • pallonaro

Usage notes

Common phrases: pallone gonfiato, a conceited person;[13][5][10] avere la testa come un pallone, to feel dazed;[13][5][10] essere or andare nel pallone, to be or get confused.[13][5][10] Older and regional forms are balone and ballone.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 4, 597
  7. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2733
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  12. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  13. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  14. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  15. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  16. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Pallone.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/pallone. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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