secchio

Forms

secchio m (plural secchi)^[1] Old forms include Venetian seglo and Old Italian sechio.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *siclum, a spoken form of classical Latin situlus (“bucket”), the masculine variant of situla.^[4][5][6][7] The shortened form is recorded as Medieval Latin siclum by Agnello Ravennate, who wrote of “a bronze vessel which we commonly call siclum”.^[2][8] Tommaseo dates him to the 9th century.^[9] Nocentini derives the word directly from the accusative of the masculine.^[10]

The feminine secchia continues the Latin feminine in the same way.^[2][10] The diminutive Vulgar Latin *sitellus gave French seau, and the Latin word passed into Middle High German sīdel, whence German Seidel (“tankard”).^[10]

DELI calls the origin of the Latin word uncertain.^[2] Nocentini thinks it probably comes from Latin sitiō (“to be thirsty”), as an object that has to be filled with water.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the Venetian seglo in the Testi veneziani (1253–1321), in a will that lists seglo I e seglelo I (“one bucket and one small bucket”).^[2][3] The Tuscan form appears in 1391, in the Arbitrato of Giovanni di Bortazzo Montolini: Uno sechio de ramo (“a copper bucket”).^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

DELI describes the secchio as shaped like the secchia but larger, and the Treccani notes that in many regions the two words are synonyms while in others the masculine names a bigger vessel for various uses.^[2][7] In the 16th century Caro writes of milking nel secchio (“into the bucket”).^[3]

The modern dictionaries add the secchio della spazzatura, a lidded bin for household waste, sometimes opened with a pedal.^[8][7] The jocular buonanotte al secchio (“goodnight to the bucket”), of Roman origin, means that nothing more can be done.^[7][4] In slang secchio is also short for secchione, a swot.^[1]

Timeline

• 1253–1321 – Venetian seglo appears in the Testi veneziani.^[2][8]
• 1324–1328 – Nocentini's date for the word.^[10]
• 1391 – Sechio is recorded in Tuscany.^[2]
• 16th century – Devoto–Oli's date for the modern form.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. bucket, pail: a round, slightly tapering container with a semicircular handle, for liquids or loose material: un secchio di plastica pieno di sabbia.^[8][4][5][1]
2. A bin for household waste (secchio della spazzatura, dell'immondizia).^{[8][4][11][1]}
3. A bucketful: un secchio di calce.^[8][4][12]
4. (slang) A swot; short for secchione.^[1]

Word family

• secchiello
• secchione
• secchietto

Related words

• secchia
• secchiata
• Latin situla
• French seau

Usage notes

The plural is secchi.^[4][1] A secchi means “in great quantities”, of rain.^[6][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
4. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
7. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
8. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse