pigione

Forms

pigione f (plural pigioni)^[1] Older and regional forms include Old Italian pisone, Old Italian piscione, Old Italian pisgione, Old Italian pexone and Old Italian piggione.^[2][1][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pēnsiōnem (“payment; rent”), in the accusative.^[4][1][5] It is the popular outcome of the Latin word, beside which pensione is the learned borrowing.^[2][4][1] Meyer-Lübke gives the Latin sense as “rent”, and lists Logudorese peyone beside the Italian word.^[6][7]

The Latin noun is an action noun of pendō (“to weigh out; to pay”), with the suffix -tiō.^[8][9][1] Its sense passed from “a weighing” to “a payment due on a fixed day” and so “rent”.^[10][11][3] De Vaan traces the verb to Proto-Italic *pend-e/o- (“to hang”), from a root Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to spin”), with the senses moving from “leave hanging” to “weigh out” and “pay”.^[12]

The palatal sound of ⟨gi⟩ shows that the word spread through the northern dialects, where /sj/ became a voiced palatal;^[9][13][3] Devoto, Sabatini–Coletti and the GDLI all point to this northern route.^[9][13][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest record is pisone in a Pisan ship account of the early 12th century, in the sense of the rent paid for a building; it is followed by piscione at Siena in 1237.^[2][5] The GDLI quotes a Pisan document with un pisone di boteghe, the rent of shops.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The form pigione is recorded before 1342 in Domenico Cavalca.^[2] From the start the word named both the letting of a house or shop and the sum paid for it, and it still has these two senses.^[5][14][13] Sabatini–Coletti mark it as Tuscan.^[13]

Figurative phrases grew from the idea of living in a house that is not one’s own: stare a pigione in a place is to stay there longer than is right, and prendere a pigione a thing is to borrow it and keep it too long.^[10][11] Boccaccio already tells a sickly man that he seems to be living in the world a pigione.^[10] Avere il cervello a pigione is said of someone foolish or absent-minded.^[15][5]

The derivative pigionante, a tenant, appears as peggionante in the 16th century and as pigionante in Traiano Boccalini in 1612–1613.^[2]

Timeline

• Early 12th century – Pisone appears in a Pisan ship account.^[2]
• 1237 – Piscione is recorded at Siena.^[2]
• 1303 – Pigionale, a tenant, is first recorded.^[4]
• Early 14th century – Appigionare “to let” is first recorded.^[4]
• Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses the form pigione.^[2]
• 1612–1613 – Traiano Boccalini uses pigionante.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The letting of a building, especially a dwelling, for payment: abitano a pigione da dieci anni.^[5][14][13]
2. The rent paid for such a lease: la pigione è aumentata di nuovo.^[5][14][13]
3. (figurative) In phrases, staying or keeping something longer than is right: stare a pigione, prendere a pigione.^[10][11]

Word family

• pigionante
• pigionale
• appigionare
• spigionare

Related words

• pensione
• Latin pensio

Usage notes

The phrase avere il cervello a pigione means to be foolish or distracted.^[5][15] A Tuscan homonym pigione is a club for pressing grapes in the tubs, from pigiare.^[3] In the Pistoia mountains Tommaseo records pigione for an iron tool for crushing dried chestnuts.^[16]

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 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 f Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 13, 445
4. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c d 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 Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
12. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
13. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
15. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
16. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET