pianoro

Forms

pianoro m (plural pianori)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian piano + -oro for Nocentini, with ⟨-oro⟩ the northern form of the suffix -oio.^[2] DELI lists it under piano, and Devoto–Oli, Zingarelli, Treccani and Gabrielli also derive it from that noun.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

The DEI, the GDLI and GRADIT trace it to Late Latin planurium, a word of the Roman land surveyors formed on plānus (“flat”) after the model of prōmunturium (“headland”).^[8][9][10] The DEI and the GDLI think the Italian word probably came from Emilia, comparing the place name ⟨Pianoro⟩ near Bologna.^[8][9] Devoto too starts from the Latin word, crossed with the northern ending ⟨-oro⟩ against the Tuscan forms in ⟨-oio⟩.^[11] Wiktionary calls it inherited from the Late Latin word.^[1] The DEI notes that Old French planor (“plain”) is formed differently.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Niccolò Tommaseo, 1840, for a plain lying high up.^[3][5] Nocentini, GRADIT and Devoto–Oli give 1841.^[2][10][4] The GDLI quotes Tommaseo's description of a landscape of greenery, vineyards, woods, hills and pianori.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In Tommaseo–Bellini the word is a flat space between heights, and Tommaseo adds that pianori are “the landings of nature”, smaller than true plateaus.^[12] The DEI records it in Umbria for the less steep parts of mountain ridges.^[8] Later writers used it freely: Aleardi, Pascoli for the sunny slope of a vineyard, D'Annunzio for the high ground between the Matterhorn and the surrounding peaks, and Pirandello for a scattered village among the foothills of the Alps.^[9] GRADIT also gives the broader sense “plain”.^[10]

Timeline

• 1840 – Niccolò Tommaseo uses the word.^[3][5]
• 1841 – Date of first record in Nocentini, GRADIT and Devoto–Oli.^[2][10][4]
• 1861 – Tommaseo–Bellini defines it as a flat space between heights.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A small plateau: a stretch of flat ground of no great size at a middle altitude, on a hill or between heights.^{[10][13][6][4]}
2. (by extension) A plain.^[10]

Related words

• piano
• altopiano
• pianura
• Latin planus

Usage notes

The GDLI also records an old northern pianoro “weeping”, the infinitive of the northern form of piangere used as a noun, in Giacomino da Verona.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d 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 Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
7. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
8. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2894
9. ^ 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, p. 13, 288
10. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 329
12. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca