poggiolo

Forms

poggiolo m (plural poggioli)^[1] A literary form is poggiuolo.^[2][3][4] Old dialect forms include pozuolo.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *podiolum, a diminutive of Latin podium (“raised platform, balcony”).^[6][7][2][1] Devoto and the GDLI write the Vulgar Latin form as ⟨*podjolum⟩.^[8][7][5] The same word is Lombard pogioeul and Piedmontese pugiöl.^[1] Latin podium was borrowed from Ancient Greek πόδιον (pódion, “base”), a diminutive of πούς (poús, “foot”).^[1][9]

The underived noun gave poggio “hill”, French pui, Old Occitan puei and Catalan puig.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Medieval Latin documents show the word in the Veneto before any Italian text: puzolus at Venice in 1272 and poiolus at Treviso in 1318.^[11] The first Italian record, pogiuolo, is in Cennino Cennini about 1400, who speaks of working in a room, under loggias or on balconies.^[11][5]

Semantic evolution

The form poggiolo is first found in Antonio Cornazzano, who died before 1500, for a balcony over an inner courtyard.^[11][5] In the 16th century Serlio wrote that the Venetians liked balconies jutting out of their windows over the canals, which they called pergoli.^[5] The word now belongs to the north of Italy.^[7][2]

An older sense “small hill” is a diminutive of poggio; the GDLI treats it as a separate entry, with examples from Fagiuoli and Pirandello in the form poggiuolo.^[12][2]

Timeline

• 1272 – Medieval Latin puzolus is recorded at Venice.^[11]
• 1318 – Medieval Latin poiolus is recorded at Treviso.^[11]
• c. 1400 – Cennino Cennini writes pogiuolo.^[11]
• Before 1500 – Antonio Cornazzano uses poggiolo.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. (regional, northern Italy) A balcony, a small terrace: Ha messo i gerani sul poggiolo.^[6][7][3][1]
2. (obsolete) A small hill, a hillock.^[2][12]

Word family

• poggiolino
• poggioletto

Related words

• poggio
• podio
• Latin podium

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
4. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 13, 719
6. ^ a b De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 13, 720