pioppo

Forms

pioppo m (plural pioppi)^[1] A feminine pioppa was used in Tuscany and in poetry by Berni and Caro.^[2][3][4] Southern Italian dialects have chiuppo.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *plōppus, a form with metathesis of the /l/ from Latin pōpulus (“poplar”).^[5][6][7][1] Medieval Latin ploppus is recorded from the 12th century, and perhaps already in a document of Lucca of 1035.^[8][2][5] Most Romance languages continue the metathesized form: Romanian plop, Spanish chopo and Portuguese choupo.^[6][2][9] The classical form survives in Old French peuple (whence French peuplier), Catalan poll and Friulian poul.^[6][9][2]

The Latin word was borrowed into Germanic, giving German Pappel, and into Celtic and Albanian;^[6][2] English poplar comes from French.^[6][2] The Latin tree name has no known etymology.^[10][6] De Vaan rejects a link with Ancient Greek πτελέα (pteléa, “elm”) as irregular;^[10][2][1] DEI thinks it a relic of a pre-Latin substrate and compares Ancient Greek ἀπελλόν (apellón, “black poplar”).^[10][2][1]

The open /ɔ/ of the Tuscan pronunciation is explained by crossing with oppio “field maple”, from Latin opulus.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first Italian record is about 1350, in the Italian translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi's treatise on agriculture, naming the tree.^[5] GRADIT and Zingarelli date it before 1320.^[7][11]

Semantic evolution

Because oppio and pioppo sounded alike, the two trees were confused, and in different dialects either word could name either tree.^[6] In the 16th century Mattioli wrote that in Tuscany black poplars were commonly called oppi and white ones alberi, while in Lombardy both were pioppe.^[5] Since the maple was used in central Italy to support vines, appioppare first meant “to tie a vine to a tree” and then, as today, “to saddle someone with something”.^[6][3]

Derivatives followed the cultivation of the tree: pioppeto “poplar grove” (1663), pioppaia (1788), and pioppicoltura and pioppicoltore (1942).^[5] The wood, light and soft, is used for crates, matches and paper pulp.^[7][12]

Timeline

• 1035 – A Medieval Latin document of Lucca may already have the form.^[5]
• 12th century – Medieval Latin ploppus is recorded.^[8][2]
• c. 1350 – The Italian translation of Crescenzi uses pioppo.^[5]
• Before 1577 – Pietro Andrea Mattioli describes the Tuscan names oppi and alberi.^[5]
• 1663 – Pioppeto “poplar grove” is recorded in Oudin.^[5]
• 1788 – Marco Lastri uses pioppaia.^[5]
• 1942 – Pioppicoltura and pioppicoltore are recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A poplar, a tall tree of the willow family (genus Populus), with long-stalked leaves and hanging catkins;^[7][13][11] pioppo bianco, nero, tremulo, white, black and aspen poplar.^[7][13][11]
2. Poplar wood, light and soft, used for crates, matches and paper pulp.^[7][14][11]
3. (botany) With a capital letter, the genus Populus of the Salicaceae.^[7][13]

Word family

• pioppeto
• pioppaia
• pioppicoltura
• pioppicoltore
• pioppicolo
• piopparello
• pioppino
• appioppare

Related words

• pioppella
• Latin populus
• French peuplier

Usage notes

GRADIT also records an obsolete pioppo “group, bunch” (1750), of uncertain origin, perhaps from the dialect word chioppo, and an obsolete pioppo “simpleton” (before 1745), probably from the tree name.^[7] GDLI connects the second with the nickname Prete Pioppo, an ignorant priest.^[15][16] The stressed vowel is open, piòppo, though Nesi gave pióppo.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2935
3. ^ a b c d Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 781
4. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ 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
14. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 13, 525
16. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET