rugghiare

Forms

rugghiare (first-person singular present rùgghio, first-person singular past historic rugghiài, past participle rugghiàto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

Most dictionaries explain it as from Italian ruggire + mugghiare, a blend of the verbs for roaring and bellowing.^{[2][3][4][5][6][1]} Nocentini instead sees it as inherited from Vulgar Latin *rugŭlāre, a diminutive of Latin rūgiō (“to roar”), formed like *mugŭlāre from mūgiō, the source of mugghiare.^[7] DEI allows both explanations, and the Latin *rogulare it posits is the same idea.^[8] Beside it stands rugliare.^[9][1]

Latin rūgiō is a late verb (Suetonius), and de Vaan connects it with a root “to roar” seen in Ancient Greek ὠρύομαι (ōrúomai, “to howl”).^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Dante, before 1313, for a fire that roars al modo suo, in its own way.^[2][3][11]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century the verb was used for lions and boars: Cavalca's lions roar over the body of Saint Paul, and Boccaccio has a wild boar coming fortemente rugghiando.^[12] Poliziano's boar in the Stanze foams, whets its tusks and rugghia e raspa.^[12][3] DEI notes that in Tuscany it was also said of the pig.^[8] By extension it is used for loud, confused noises like a roar, such as a rough sea.^[2][13]

Timeline

• Before 1313 – Dante uses rugghiare of a fire.^[2][3]
• 14th century – The nouns rugghiamento and rugghio appear.^[9]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive, literary) To roar fiercely, especially of a wild boar or another wild beast; ruggire.^{[2][3][13][4]}
2. (by extension) To make a loud, deep, prolonged noise like a roar: Per tutta la notte il torrente in piena rugghiò sotto le finestre.^{[2][3][14][4]}

Word family

• rugghio
• rugghiamento

Related words

• ruggire
• mugghiare
• rugliare

Usage notes

A dialect verb rugghiare, from rugghia, meant to level the grain in a bushel measure with a strickle.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3295
9. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
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. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
12. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
13. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
14. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse