scrigno

Forms

scrigno m (plural scrigni)^[1] Old Italian also had the feminine Old Italian scrigna and the variant Old Italian sgrigno.^[2][3] Old forms also include Old Italian scrinio and Old Italian scrineo.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin scrīnium (“box, case”), a case for letters, papers and book rolls.^{[5][6][7][8][5]}

The same Latin word gave French écrin, Occitan escrinh, Catalan escriny and Old Spanish escriño; Spanish escrinio and Portuguese escrínio are learned.^[7][9][10] It was also borrowed into the Germanic languages, as German Schrein.^[9] Romanian sicriu “coffin” has a different source: Meyer-Lübke takes it from Hungarian.^[9]

The origin of the Latin word is unknown.^[6][7][11] De Vaan notes that it could in theory belong to a root Proto-Indo-European *(s)krei- “turn, bend”, but nothing in its meaning points there.^[11] Wiktionary mentions a link with the container name Proto-Slavic *krina and Scandinavian words for wickerwork baskets, without deciding.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, the plural scrignia, is in Jacopone da Todi before 1306, where gold, silver and gems are locked away ne li scrigni “in the coffers”.^[6][4] Zingarelli dates the word to 1282.^[3] The singular scrigno appears in the 14th-century Italian Marco Polo, which explains it as un forzieretto, a small strongbox.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

From the start scrigno was a coffer for money, jewels and valuables;^[2] Marco Polo's translator describes elephants each carrying a scrigno full of gold and silver plate.^[2] The figurative use essere uno scrigno di virtù “to be a treasure-house of virtue” describes a person of great qualities.^[8][3]

Old Italian also used scrigno for a hump, especially a camel's: B. Giamboni describes how the Arabs cut the fatty hump from the camel's back and salt it.^[12][4] The GDLI quotes the hump sense down to Parini; it is now archaic.^[4][13] From it came scrignuto “hunchbacked”, still used in Siena and Corsica.^[12]

Timeline

• 13th century – B. Giamboni uses scrigno for a camel's hump.^[12]
• 1282 – Zingarelli's date for the word.^[3]
• Before 1306 – Jacopone da Todi has the plural scrignia.^[6][8]
• 14th century – The singular scrigno in the Italian Marco Polo.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A casket or small strongbox for money, jewels, documents and other valuables: uno scrigno d'argento colmo di perle.^[8][13][14]
2. (figurative) A person or thing full of fine qualities: essere uno scrigno di virtù.^[8][15][3]
3. (archaic) A hump, especially a camel's.^[8][13][15]

Word family

• scrignuto
• scrignetto

Related words

• Latin scrīnium
• French écrin

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
3. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 18
5. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
11. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3425
13. ^ 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
14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse