rotella

Forms

rotella f (plural rotelle)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin rotella, a diminutive of rota (“wheel”).^[2][3][4][1] Devoto and the Zingarelli dictionary see a double diminutive, through rotula.^[5][6] The same word is French rouelle “round slice”, Occitan rodella, Catalan rodella and Portuguese rodela “kneecap”, and Spanish rodilla “knee”.^[2][7][8]

De Vaan derives rota from a PIE adjective Proto-Indo-European *Hrot-o- (“revolving”), from the root *Hret- (“to run, roll”), with cognates such as Lithuanian rãtas (“wheel”) and Old High German rad.^[9][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word before 1313, in Dante, for round spots painted on a beast's back and sides.^[10][11] DELI's first record is about 1325, in an Italian Aesop, for a small round shield.^[12][13]

Semantic evolution

The plain sense “small wheel” is in Buti in the 14th century.^[12] Biringuccio, before 1537, uses it for the small wheels of a mechanism, and the joke that someone gli manca qualche rotella, “has a few screws loose”, is recorded from 1935.^[12] The shield was used by infantry in the 15th and 16th centuries, and German took it as Rotelle in 1508.^[14][11][13]

Later the word named tools with a small wheel: the rowel of a spur, the pastry wheel, the measuring tape on a reel, the basket of a ski pole.^[10][11] Pattini a rotelle and sedia a rotelle have made it an everyday word.^[6][11] In anatomy it is a rare name for the kneecap.^[4][6]

Timeline

• Before 1313 – Dante uses rotelle for round spots.^[10]
• c. 1325 – An Italian Aesop uses the word for a round shield.^[12]
• 14th century – Buti uses it for a small wheel.^[12]
• 1508 – German Rotelle “round shield” is recorded.^[13]
• Before 1537 – Biringuccio uses it for a wheel of a mechanism.^[12]
• 1935 – Linati writes gli manca qualche rotella.^[12]
• 1955 – Rotellista, a roller-hockey player, is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A small wheel; a caster or roller: un carrello con quattro rotelle.^{[10][3][4][1]}
2. A small gear wheel in a mechanism;^[10][3][6] (figurative) a minor cog in an organization.^[10][3][6]
3. A small wheel-shaped tool: the rowel of a spur, a pastry cutter, a measuring tape, the basket of a ski pole.^[10][3][11]
4. (historical) A light round shield used in the 15th and 16th centuries.^{[4][6][14][1]}
5. (literary) A round spot or mark.^[10][14]
6. (anatomy, rare) The kneecap.^[4][6][1]

Word family

• rotellista
• rotellina

Related words

• ruota
• rotula
• Latin rota

Usage notes

Avere qualche rotella fuori posto or mancare una rotella are said of someone eccentric or unbalanced.^[10][6][15] An older spelling is ruotella.^[6][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 379
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
12. ^ 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
13. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
14. ^ a b c d Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
15. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana