piccione

Forms

piccione m (plural piccioni)^[1]

Etymology

The most likely source is borrowed from Neapolitan piccione, the southern outcome of Late Latin pīpiō (“young bird, pigeon”), which is formed on the imitative verb pīpiō (“to chirp, peep”).^{[1][2][3][4][5]} The regular Tuscan outcome of the Latin noun is pippione, recorded from the 13th century; in the southern dialects the Latin group /pj/ before a vowel becomes /ttʃ/, and a Neapolitan record of 1473 supports this route.^[4][2] Nocentini adds that the southern form replaced the Tuscan one.^[2]

Other views exist.^[4] The DEI derives the word from French pigeon (13th century) or from Spanish pichón, itself French, rather than from a southern dialect, and Meyer-Lübke from Occitan pizun.^[6][7] Nocentini and Wiktionary instead take the Spanish word from Italian.^[2][1] Prati thought the word might have come from Rome or Bologna, with an imitative /ttʃ/, an idea DELI rejects.^[8][4] Meyer-Lübke also notes that Salvioni's explanation by dissimilation has no parallel.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Prudenzani, before 1440, in the sense “pigeon”;^[4][2][9] Nocentini and GRADIT date the word to 1472.^[4][2][9] The DEI and Prati give Ariosto as the first author.^[6][8] In his Satires he writes Mangian grossi piccioni, e cappon grassi “they eat big pigeons and fat capons”.^[10]

Semantic evolution

From the bird the word passed to a naive person easily cheated (1804), and in 1871 to a cut of beef, named for its shape.^[6] In the central and southern dialects it often means a nestling pigeon.^[6] Tommaseo records pigliar due piccioni a una fava “to kill two birds with one stone”, already more common than the older form with colombi.^[10]

The derivative piccionaia, a pigeon loft, also came to mean an attic and the gallery of a theatre (1836).^[4] Italian lent the word to Greek as Modern Greek πιτσούνι (pitsoúni, “young pigeon”).^[6][1]

Timeline

• Before 1440 – First record, in Prudenzani.^[4]
• 1472 – Recorded according to Nocentini and GRADIT.^[2][9]
• 1473 – A Neapolitan record of the word.^[4]
• 1531 – Piccioncello and piccioncino appear in Roseo.^[6]
• 1804 – The sense “naive person” is recorded.^[6]
• 1836 – Piccionaia is used for the gallery of a theatre.^[4]
• 1871 – The sense “cut of beef” is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. pigeon, the domestic or rock pigeon, raised for its meat;^[9][11][12] piccione viaggiatore, homing pigeon.^[9][11][12]
2. The meat of the pigeon as food: piccione arrosto.^[11][12]
3. (figurative) i due piccioni: a couple of lovers.^[9][11]
4. (figurative, colloquial) A naive person, a dupe.^[9][11][13]
5. A clay or copper target once used in shooting competitions.^[9][14]
6. (butchery, regional) A cut of beef or veal between the loin and the rump.^[9][11][13]

Word family

• piccionaia
• piccioncino

Related words

• pippione
• colombo
• French pigeon

Usage notes

The proverb prendere due piccioni con una fava means achieving two aims with one action.^[11][12] Tiro al piccione was a shooting sport with live pigeons, now banned.^[11][12] The feminine picciona is used too.^[13]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2902
7. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 773
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d e f g h Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)