peso

peso¹ weight

Pronunciation

• /ˈpe.zo/, /ˈpe.so/^[1]

Forms

peso m (plural pesi)^[1]

Etymology

The weight is inherited from Vulgar Latin *pēsum, from Latin pēnsum, which in Latin meant the quantity of wool weighed out to a slave woman to spin in a day.^[1][2][3] “Pēnsum” is the neuter of pensus (“weighed”), the past participle of pendō (“to weigh”), used as a noun.^[2][3][4] The ⟨n⟩ before ⟨s⟩ was weakened and lost, as the Romance forms show.^[5][6] The word is pan-Romance: Old French pois (modern French poids), Occitan pes, Catalan pes, Spanish peso, Portuguese peso, Sardinian pesu, Friulian pes, Romansh pais and Romanian păs, which means “grief”.^[3][6] DÉRom reconstructs a Proto-Romance neuter noun */ˈpes-u/, with plurals in “-ora” and “-a”, from every branch except Dalmatian.^[7] In Sardinian, southeastern French, eastern Occitan and Spanish the word also means “a pair of scales”.^[6]

Latin “pendō” meant “to hang (something)”, then “to weigh out” and “to pay”.^[8] Most handbooks take it as a variant of the root Proto-Indo-European *(s)penh₁- (“to spin”), through “stretch a thread” and “leave hanging”.^[8] De Vaan finds this possible but not obvious, and also considers a nasal present of Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“to fall”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word to 1279.^[9] DELI's first records are from the late 13th century: Monte Andrea uses it for a very heavy body, Bono Giamboni (before 1292) for the force that draws bodies towards the earth, and the Novellino (late 13th century) for what weighs on the mind.^[2] Giamboni's text describes an ice sheet that broke under “the very great weight” of the crowd and the animals crossing it.^[10][11]

Semantic evolution

Dante (before 1321) uses peso for the weight used on a scale, and Boccaccio (1353) for authority and importance, the sense of dare peso “to give weight” and di poco peso “of little account”.^[2] The figurative sense of a burden or worry, also old, gave togliersi un peso dallo stomaco “to take a weight off one's stomach”.^[9] Trade gave peso lordo and peso netto (gross and net weight) and a peso d'oro “at the price of gold”.^[12][13][9]

Sport added new senses in the 20th century: the weight categories of boxers and wrestlers (1914), and the iron ball of the shot put (1935).^[2] Pesi massimi, pesi medi and peso piuma are calques of English heavy-weights (1857), middle-weights and feather-weight (1889). Peso massimo has lately also come to mean a leading political figure, like French poids lourd.^[2] The sportsman who lifts weights or throws the shot is a pesista (1942).^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1279 – GRADIT's date of first record.^[9]
• 13th century – Monte Andrea uses peso for a heavy body.^[2]
• Late 13th century – The Novellino uses it for a burden on the mind.^[2]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for the force of gravity.^[2]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for a weight used in weighing.^[2]
• 1353 – Boccaccio uses it for authority and importance.^[2]
• 1914 – The weight categories of boxers are recorded.^[2]
• 1935 – The shot of the shot put is called peso.^[2]
• 1942 – Pesista and pesistica are recorded.^[2][3]
• 1973 – The lead weights of a diver are recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (physics) weight: the force that gravity exerts on a body.^[9][14][5]
2. The measure of that force, expressed in units such as kilograms: Il medico mi ha detto di perdere un po' di peso.^[9][5][13]
3. A heavy object or load: Non sollevare pesi dopo l'operazione.^[9][5]
4. A weight used on a scale; a weight lifted in training; the iron ball of the shot put.^[9][2][12]
5. (sport) A weight category in boxing, wrestling and weightlifting: peso piuma, peso massimo.^[2][14]
6. (figurative) A burden, a care or duty that weighs on someone: Si porta dietro il peso di quella scelta da anni.^[9][5]
7. (figurative) Importance, influence: Le sue parole hanno avuto poco peso nella discussione.^[9][5][2]
8. A feeling of heaviness, as from poor digestion.^[9]

Word family

• pesista
• pesistica
• pesiera
• contrappeso
• sovrappeso
• sottopeso
• soprappeso

peso² currency

Pronunciation

• /ˈpɛ.zo/^[1]

Forms

peso m (plural pesos)^[1]

Etymology

The currency is borrowed from Spanish peso, which properly means “weight”, the same word as Italian peso¹.^[2][3][9][1] The Spanish word is recorded from 962 and comes from Latin pēnsum.^[9][15]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Antonio Pigafetta's account of Magellan's voyage (about 1525), where islanders give pesi de oro, gold pesos, for iron, and a peso is said to be worth about a ducat and a half.^[2][10] GRADIT dates the word to 1533.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century the peso was a Spanish weight and coin of gold or silver, mentioned by Ramusio and in Venetian reports.^[10] Today it is the name of the currency of several Spanish-speaking countries, chiefly in Latin America, and of the Philippines.^[9][14][15] Its diminutive peseta was taken into Italian in the 16th century.^[3]

Timeline

• 962 – Spanish peso is first recorded.^[9]
• About 1525 – Pigafetta writes of pesi de oro.^[2][10]
• 1533 – GRADIT's date of first record.^[9]
• 16th century – Peseta is taken from Spanish.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. peso: the name of the currency of several Spanish-speaking countries, mostly in Latin America, and of the Philippines: peso messicano, peso argentino.^[9][14][15]
2. (historical) An old Spanish coin and unit of weight for gold.^[10]

Word family

• peseta