ruca

Forms

ruca f (plural ruche)^[1] A popular and northern form is ruga.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin ērūca, with the loss of the first syllable;^[5][6][1][4] Latin already used it both for the caterpillar and for the rocket plant.^[5][6][1][4] The learned eruca is the doublet.^[1][5] Popular outcomes are found in all Italian dialects, as Venetian ruga, and in Ibero-Romance as Catalan eruga and Spanish oruga.^[7][4][8]

The LEI connects the two senses either by the green colour of plant and larva or, more likely, by the caterpillar that infests the plant.^[4] Sabatini–Coletti and Gabrielli say instead that the plant was named for its hairy stem or leaves, which recall a caterpillar.^[2][9] De Vaan analyses ērūca as ēr (“hedgehog”) with a suffix taken from verrūca (“wart”), the caterpillar being named for its rough back.^[10][1] Wiktionary also gives a PIE derivation from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰers- (“to bristle”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT and Nocentini date the sense “caterpillar” to the first half of the 13th century, and the plant to the 14th.^[6][5] The Florentine translation of Ovid, before 1313, warns against the salata ruca as an aphrodisiac.^[4][11]

Semantic evolution

The Italian Crescenzi describes the ruche that gnaw all the leaves of plants, and an old Bible glosses the ruca as a worm living in the vine, like a bruco.^[12] The diminutives took over the plant: ruchetta is recorded from the 15th century, and rucola from 1544, when Mattioli gave it as a Lombard word.^[5][7]

French borrowed ruchetta as roquette, recorded from 1505, and Spanish as ruqueta.^[4][8][7] In standard Italian ruca is now uncommon, and rucola is the usual name of the salad plant.^[13][6]

Timeline

• First half of the 13th century – Ruca “caterpillar” is first recorded.^[6][5]
• Before 1313 – The Florentine Ovid uses ruca for the rocket plant.^[4]
• 14th century – The plant sense is recorded.^[5][7]
• 15th century – The diminutive ruchetta appears.^[5]
• 1505 – French roquette, from ruchetta, is recorded.^[4]
• 1544 – Mattioli records rucola as a Lombard word.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (botany, uncommon) rocket, arugula: the salad plant Eruca sativa, the same as ruchetta or rucola.^{[6][14][2][1]}
2. (popular) A caterpillar; a larva: Le ruche hanno mangiato le foglie del cavolo.^[6][2][15]

Word family

• ruchetta
• rucola

Related words

• eruca
• Latin ērūca

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
3. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 857
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 21, 727
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3293
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
15. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli