roco

Forms

roco (feminine roca, masculine plural rochi, feminine plural roche)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin raucus (“hoarse”), the popular outcome beside the learned rauco.^[2][3][4][1] Sabatini–Coletti point to the reduction of the Latin diphthong /au/ to /ɔ/.^[5] The same Latin adjective gave Old French rou, Occitan rauc and Portuguese rouco;^[3][6] Spanish ronco has a nasal that REW explains by a crossing with Latin rhonchō “to snore”.^[3][6]

Latin raucus is formed from Latin rāvis (“hoarseness”) with the suffix -cus.^[7][1] Nocentini classes it as onomatopoeic.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is the Anonimo Genovese of the 13th century, in the sense “faint, not clear”, said of a voice: Digando zo tuto era roco / e noi poea proferir (“saying this he was all hoarse and could not speak”).^[2][8] Brunetto Latini, before 1294, has it of the crane whose voice has grown hoarse from keeping watch.^[2][9]

Semantic evolution

Petrarch uses it of a person hoarse from calling out (e son già roco, / donna, mercé chiamando, 1374), and of the roco mormorar di lucide onde, the muffled murmur of water.^[2][8][10] From the voice it spread to animal cries and to any dull or harsh sound, such as a siren's whistle.^[11][12] The Treccani notes that in some regions roco is the everyday word and in others it feels literary beside rauco, and that in poetry its range is wider.^[12]

Timeline

• 13th century – The Anonimo Genovese uses roco of a weak, unclear voice.^[2][8]
• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses the word.^[2][3]
• 14th century – The noun rochezza “hoarseness” is recorded.^[3][4]
• 1374 – Petrarch uses roco of a person.^[2][11]
• 1691 – Rocaggine appears in the third Crusca dictionary.^[2]
• 1801–1803 – Arrochire “to make hoarse” is first recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. hoarse, with a low, weak voice; rauco: Dopo la partita era roco a forza di cantare.^{[11][10][5][13]}
2. Of a voice: low, muffled or rough.^[11][10]
3. Of an animal's cry: dull or shrill.^[11]
4. Of a sound or noise: dull, deep or grating.^[11][10][12]

Word family

• rocaggine
• rochezza
• arrochire
• rocamente

Related words

• rauco
• fioco
• Latin raucus

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
5. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli