solcare

Forms

solcare (first-person singular present sólco, first-person singular past historic solcài, past participle solcàto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin sulcāre (“to plough, draw furrows”), derived from sulcus (“furrow”).^{[2][3][4][5][1][6]} DELI gives the Latin verb as a derivative of the noun, under solco.^[7] Battaglia calls it a learned word, and the old form sulcare keeps the Latin vowel.^[8]

De Vaan derives the Latin noun from Proto-Italic *solko-, from Proto-Indo-European *solk-o- (“furrow”).^[6] It is cognate with Ancient Greek ὁλκός (holkós, “furrow; trail”), ἕλκω (hélkō, “to draw, drag”) and Old English sulh (“plough”).^[6][2] Nocentini explains the furrow as a cut made by dragging.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT and Zingarelli date the first record before 1320.^[3][5] DELI's first record is the Italian Crescenzi of about 1350, with the sense “to cut with furrows made by the plough”.^[7] Battaglia quotes its advice to furrow such fields crosswise, acciocché ne' solchi stia la grassezza rattenuta (“so that the richness is held in the furrows”).^[8]

Semantic evolution

Petrarch, before 1374, used it of a boat cutting the waves: Qual non so s'altra mai onda solcasse (“such as I know not whether any other ever furrowed a wave”).^[7][9] Tasso called ploughing the sea the very work of a ship.^[9] The sense of leaving a mark or a wrinkle is recorded in a 14th-century Italian version of John Chrysostom.^[7]

Sannazaro used it intransitively in the image of futile labour, Nell'onde solca e nell'arene semina (“he ploughs the waves and sows in the sand”).^[10] Parini has a comb that lieve solca i capegli, and Foscolo writes Solcata ho fronte, “my brow is furrowed”.^[10]

Timeline

• Before 1320 – GRADIT's and Zingarelli's date for the first record.^[3][5]
• About 1350 – The Italian Crescenzi uses solcare of ploughing.^[7]
• 14th century – The sense “to leave a mark, a wrinkle” is recorded.^[7]
• Before 1374 – Petrarch uses it of a boat cutting the water.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To plough furrows in, to furrow: Il contadino solcò il campo prima della pioggia.^[3][4][5][1]
2. To leave furrows or ruts in the ground.^[3][4][10]
3. Of ships, to cleave the water, to sail across: solcare i mari, to travel by sea.^{[3][5][11][1]}
4. To line a surface with marks like furrows, of rivers, wrinkles or tears: Le rughe gli solcavano il viso.^[3][4][1]
5. (figurative) To streak across the air or the sky.^[3][4][5]

Word family

• solcatore
• solcatura
• solcato
• risolcare
• insolcare

Related words

• solco
• Latin sulcus

Usage notes

The past participle solcato is also an adjective, “furrowed”.^[12][10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e 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 c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ 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)
11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
12. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana