pugno

Forms

pugno m (plural pugni or (archaic or literary) pugna f)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pugnus (“fist; handful”).^[2][3][4][1] The word is panromance: French poing, Occitan ponh, Catalan puny, Spanish puño, Portuguese punho and Romanian pumn.^[3][5][6] Old Italian also had the feminine plurals Old Italian pugna and Old Italian pugnora.^[7][8][9]

Latin “pugnus” goes back to Proto-Italic *pugnos and Proto-Indo-European *puǵnos, from the root *pewǵ- (“to prick, to strike”), also the root of pungō (“to prick”).^[1][3][2] Its nearest relatives are Ancient Greek πυγμή (pugmḗ, “fist”) and Ancient Greek πύξ (púx, “with the fist”).^[3][10][11] Devoto compares the suffix “-no-” with that of somnus (“sleep”).^[11] From “pugnus” Latin also formed pugnō (“to fight”), the source of pugnare.^[3][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word to before 1284.^[4] DELI's first record, in the sense “clenched hand”, is the Novellino of the late 13th century, where a jeweller takes up two stones and closes his fist on them (strinse il pugno).^[2][13]

Semantic evolution

Dante (before 1321) uses pugno for a blow with the fist: in Inferno 30 one sinner strikes another's swollen belly col pugno.^[2][9] The sense “handful” is recorded in the 14th century, in a translation of St John Chrysostom, and was also expressed by the diminutives pugnello and pugnuolo.^[2][8][12] Dante also has the old plural le pugna: his guide throws earth con piene le pugna, “with full fists”, into the greedy gullets of Inferno 6.^[13][9]

The hand that writes gave di proprio pugno “in one's own hand”, and DEI records pugno for a style of handwriting in Bartoli (17th century).^[8][14] Serrar le pugna meant “to die” in the 16th century, after the clenched hands of the dying, as in Boccaccio's lover who chiuse le pugna and died beside his beloved.^[8][9] In the 20th century the raised fist became the salute of communist and Marxist movements.^[4][14] Greek borrowed the word as Modern Greek μπουνιά (bouniá).^[1]

Timeline

• Before 1284 – GRADIT's date of first record.^[4]
• Late 13th century – The Novellino uses pugno for a clenched hand.^[2]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for a punch.^[2]
• 14th century – It is recorded for a handful.^[2]
• 16th century – Serrar le pugna “to die” appears in Cecchi.^[8]
• 14th century – Impugnare “to grip” is recorded.^[3]
• 1798 – Impugnatura “grip, handle” is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fist, the hand with the fingers closed tightly against the palm: Teneva le chiavi strette nel pugno.^[4][14][15]
2. A punch, a blow with the fist: Gli ha dato un pugno sul naso.^[4][14][7]
3. A handful, what can be held in the closed hand: un pugno di riso.^[4][15][16]
4. (figurative) A small number or quantity: Solo un pugno di spettatori è rimasto fino alla fine.^[4][15][16]
5. Pugno di ferro: a knuckle-duster, (figurative) an iron fist, a very firm attitude.^[7][17]

Word family

• impugnare
• impugnatura
• pugnale
• pugnetta
• pugnello
• pugnata

Related words

• pugnare
• pungere
• pugile
• Latin pugnus

Usage notes

The usual plural is pugni;^[14][1] le pugna is archaic or literary.^[14][1] Common phrases are avere qualcuno in pugno, to have someone in one's power, fare a pugni, to come to blows and figuratively to clash (of colours or ideas), rimanere con un pugno di mosche, to be left empty-handed, and un pugno in un occhio, an eyesore.^[4][7][16]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
7. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3141
9. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 810
13. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
14. ^ a b c d e f 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 c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
16. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
17. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli