ramo

Forms

ramo m (plural rami or (Old Italian) ramora)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin rāmus (“branch”), from the accusative rāmum.^[2][3][4][1] The word is common to all Romance: Old French raim, Occitan ram, Catalan ram, Spanish ramo and Portuguese ramo;^[3][5] French rameau continues the diminutive Vulgar Latin *ramellus.^[3][5] DÉRom reconstructs a Proto-Romance neuter, whose plural became the feminine collective rama, found in Venetian rama, Friulian rame, Spanish rama and Portuguese rama.^[6][5]

The Latin word probably goes back to Proto-Italic *wrād-mo-, belonging with Latin rādīx (“root”) and radius (“ray”).^[3][7][1] De Vaan notes that Ancient Greek ῥάδιξ (rhádix) means “branch”, so that the PIE source could mean either “branch” or “root”;^[7][1] Wiktionary gives Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds (“root”).^[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the 13th-century Scampolo dugentesco sul prender moglie, and Bono Giamboni, who died before 1292, also has it, for a primary division of a plant's stem that itself divides into smaller branches.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also had the feminine rama, in Jacopone and Fazio degli Uberti, and the plural ramora, used by Dante in 1313–1319;^[2][8] Bembo set ramora beside corpora and Boccaccio's latora and tempora.^[2][8] The word stretched early to things branching from a main body, in Crescenzi around 1350, to a line of descent, in Boccaccio around 1336, and to the branch of a river.^[2][9]

From the image of the tree of knowledge, ramo became a branch of a science in Cesarotti, before 1808, and a field of study in 1891.^[2] The phrase avere un ramo di pazzia “to be a bit mad” goes back, as Spitzer showed, to the medieval allegorical tree whose branches stand for virtues and vices.^[2] In modern Italian it names sectors of insurance (ramo vita), the two chambers of Parliament, and the ramo secco, a person or business that yields nothing.^[4][10][11]

Timeline

• 13th century – Ramo appears in the Scampolo dugentesco sul prender moglie.^[2]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ramo.^[2][4]
• 1313–1319 – Dante uses the plural ramora.^[2]
• c. 1336 – Boccaccio uses ramo for a line of descent.^[2]
• c. 1350 – The Italian Crescenzi uses ramo for anything branching from a main body.^[2]
• Before 1808 – Cesarotti uses ramo for a branch of a science.^[2]
• 1891 – Ramo is recorded for a subject of study.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A branch of a tree, the woody part growing from the trunk that bears leaves, flowers and fruit: Il vento ha spezzato un ramo del ciliegio.^{[4][12][13][1]}
2. (botany) Any secondary axis into which the stem or root of a plant divides.^[4][12][14]
3. (anatomy) A division of a blood vessel, nerve or bone; a ramus.^[4][1]
4. Anything branching from a main body: the tine of an antler, a branch of coral, an arm of a river or lake, a fork of a road, a secondary vein in a mine;^[4][13][10] Manzoni writes quel ramo del lago di Como (“that arm of Lake Como”).^[4][13][10]
5. A line of descent in a family: il ramo cadetto della famiglia.^[13][14]
6. (figurative) A branch of a science or discipline, or a sector of an activity or business: È un esperto nel suo ramo.^[4][13][10]
7. A section of an administration;^[4][10] ramo del Parlamento, either chamber of Parliament.^[4][10]

Word family

• rama
• rametto
• ramoscello
• ramoso
• ramosità
• ramificare
• ramificato
• ramificazione
• ramaglia
• ramazza
• ramazzare
• ramatura
• diramare

Related words

• radice
• raggio
• ramingo
• Latin rāmus

Usage notes

Ramo secco is a person, office or business that produces nothing, and essere del ramo means to be an expert in the field.^[12][11] The old plural ramora survives only in the archaic adjective ramoruto.^[2][9] An Old Florentine ramo “copper”, probably rebuilt on the plural rami of rame, is a separate word.^[9][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3203
10. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ 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
13. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)