singhiozzo

Forms

singhiozzo m (plural singhiozzi)^[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from Italian singhiozzare (“to hiccup; to sob”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Wiktionary instead derives it from a noun Vulgar Latin *singluttium.^[1]

The verb singhiozzare continues *singluttiāre, an alteration of Latin singultāre (“to gasp, sob”) under the influence of gluttīre (“to swallow”), the verb behind inghiottire.^[2][3] Latin singultāre comes from singultus (“sobbing, hiccup”), which also gave the learned doublet singulto.^[2][1] From a variant *singluttāre come French sangloter, Occitan sanglotar and Catalan sanglotar.^[3] Spanish sollozar, Portuguese soluçar and Romanian sughița go back to *suggluttiāre.^[3] The nouns are French sanglot, Catalan singlot, Spanish sollozo, Portuguese soluço and Sicilian sugghiuzzu.^[1][7]

The origin of Latin singultus is unclear.^[1][8] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *sengʷʰ- and mentions a comparison with the root for “to sing”, which he finds weak.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is the plural for sobs, the quick breathing of a convulsive cry, in the 13th-century Sconfitta di Monteaperto.^[2] The hiccup is first recorded around 1350, in the Italian translation of Crescenzi, where dill is said to stop it.^[2][10] DELI dates the verb singhiozzare only from the 14th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Boccaccio has an answer given con debol voce, rotta da molti singhiozzi, in a weak voice broken by sobs.^[10] Tommaseo distinguished the singular, the bodily hiccup, from the plural, the sobs of grief.^[10]

The noun gave the phrase a singhiozzo or a singhiozzi, in fits and starts, and sciopero a singhiozzo, a strike with work stopped and resumed by turns.^[4][11][12] In music it names the hocket of medieval polyphony.^[4][13]

Timeline

• 13th century – The plural singhiozzi “sobs” appears in the Sconfitta di Monteaperto.^[2]
• 14th century – The verb singhiozzare is recorded, in a translation of Seneca.^[2]
• About 1350 – Singhiozzo “hiccup” appears in the translation of Crescenzi.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A hiccup: a sudden involuntary contraction of the diaphragm with a brief closing of the glottis, which makes a typical sound: mi è venuto il singhiozzo.^[4][13][11]
2. (usually in the plural) A sob: the quick breathing in and out of convulsive crying: scoppiare in singhiozzi.^[4][13][5]
3. (figurative) In a singhiozzo, a singhiozzi, by fits and starts, with frequent breaks.^[11][13][14]
4. (music) The hocket, a form of medieval polyphony.^[4][13]

Word family

• singhiozzio
• singhiozzoso

Related words

• singhiozzare
• singulto
• inghiottire
• Latin singultus

Usage notes

Singulto is a more formal synonym.^[13][11] A familiar form singozzo is recorded by Tommaseo, and Wiktionary gives sangozzo.^[10][1] Beside /sinˈɡjot.t͡so/ there is a pronunciation /siɲˈɲot.t͡so/.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 409
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
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 Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ 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
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli