spicchio

Forms

spicchio m (plural spicchi)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin spīculum (“point, sting”), through a contracted form Vulgar Latin *spiclu(m).^[2][3][4][1] The Latin word is a diminutive of spīcum (“point, spike”), a variant of spīca (“ear of grain”).^[3][1][5][6] spigolo is the learned doublet from the same Latin word.^[1][6] Meyer-Lübke found the meaning a poor fit with “point”, and thought rather of a Vulgar Latin *spīcula (“small ear of grain”).^[7]

De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *speikā- for the Latin noun, from Proto-Indo-European *speig- or Proto-Indo-European *spiHg-, and compares Germanic words for sharp objects such as Old High German speihha (“spoke”) and Old Norse spíkr (“nail”); he finds no further etymology.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is from the first half of the 14th century, in Bencivenni, for a clove of garlic: “take four ounces of peeled garlic cloves” (Recipe spichi d'agli mondi once IIII).^[2][9] GRADIT dates the word to before 1320.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The Crescenzi translation used spicchi also for the bulblets of the lily.^[9][10] The sense passed to the pieces into which a fruit is cut lengthwise (before 1492, Bellincioni), and Berni wrote of handing someone a slice of pear at table.^[2][10] The segments of citrus fruit, now the first sense, are recorded only from before 1566 (Grazzini).^[2]

From before 1600 (Davanzati) the word could name anything shaped like a segment, a small part; in 1875 it entered geometry for the spherical wedge.^[2] Phrases include a spicchi “in segments” and the three-cornered berretta a spicchi of priests.^[11][12] Old di spicchio and per spicchio meant “sideways, aslant”.^[11]

Timeline

• First half of the 14th century – Bencivenni uses spicchi for cloves of garlic.^[2][9]
• Before 1492 – Bellincioni uses the word for a lengthwise piece of fruit.^[2]
• Before 1566 – Grazzini uses it for a segment of citrus fruit.^[2]
• Before 1600 – Davanzati uses it for anything shaped like a segment.^[2]
• 1875 – The geometrical sense is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A segment of a citrus fruit; a clove of garlic: Sbuccia due spicchi d'aglio per il sugo.^{[4][13][14][12]}
2. A wedge or slice of another fruit cut lengthwise.^[4][13][11]
3. Anything shaped like a segment, a wedge-shaped part: a slice of cake, the crescent of the moon, and in a spicchi “in segments”.^{[4][13][14][11][1]}
4. (architecture) A section of a vault between two ribs or edges; a vault made of such sections.^[4][13][14]
5. (heraldry) Each arm or point of a cross or a star.^[4][15][1]
6. (geometry) Spicchio sferico: a spherical wedge.^[13][14][11]
7. (Tuscany) Spicchio di petto: a cut of beef from the brisket.^[11][15]

Word family

• spicchiare
• spicchiolato
• spicchiuto

Related words

• spiga
• spigolo
• Latin spiculum

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 j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
10. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
13. ^ 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
14. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli