spilla

Forms

spilla f (plural spille)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin spīnula, a diminutive of spīna (“thorn”).^[2][3][4][1] Wiktionary sets up a contracted Vulgar Latin *spinla, and Devoto notes the regular loss of the vowel after the stress in a word stressed on the third-last syllable.^[1][5] The learned spinula is a doublet.^[1]

The same Latin word gave French épingle, from which Neapolitan spingule comes.^[3][6] In Sicilian and Calabrian spinula names the sea bass.^[6]

The Latin word spīna goes back to Proto-Italic *speinā and Proto-Indo-European *spein-/*spiHn-, perhaps from the same base as spīca.^[7][1] De Vaan compares Old High German spenula (“hairpin”) and Russian спина́ (spiná, “back”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cortelazzo and Zolli cite Cavalca, before 1342, for spilla “pin”, but say the record needs checking.^[2] The sure records begin with Forteguerri, before 1735.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Spilla is the feminine beside the Tuscan spillo, which is recorded from the early 14th century.^[3][2] Nocentini explains the gap in the dates by the literary weight of the Tuscan form.^[3] The feminine was a word of Rome and perhaps Lucca, and 19th-century purists condemned it.^[2][8] Fagiuoli, writing from Rome, lists it among Florentine masculines that had turned feminine there: “Sento il lume, lo spillo, ed il bucato / Dir la luma, la spilla, e la bucata”.^[2] Viani defended it against the purists.^[2]

The sense “jewel pinned on as an ornament” appears in Carlo Gozzi before 1806.^[2] The ornament is now the main sense, while spilla for a plain pin is regional;^[4][9][10] spilla di sicurezza or da balia is the safety pin.^[4][9][10]

Timeline

• Before 1342 – A doubtful record of spilla “pin” in Cavalca.^[2]
• Before 1735 – Forteguerri uses spilla “pin”.^[2]
• 1733 – Fagiuoli notes la spilla as a Roman form.^[2]
• Before 1806 – Carlo Gozzi uses it for an ornamental pin.^[2]
• 1891 – Petrocchi defines it as an artistic pin.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. brooch: an ornamental clasp, often of precious metal, pinned on clothing: Porta una spilla d'argento sul bavero.^{[4][9][11][1]}
2. spilla da cravatta: a tiepin.^[4][9]
3. spilla di sicurezza, spilla da balia: a safety pin.^[4][9][10]
4. (regional) A pin.^[4][9][11]

Word family

• spillo
• spilletta
• spillone
• spillare
• spillatico

Related words

• spina
• spinula
• French épingle

Usage notes

Spilla is also a form of the verb spillare (“to tap a barrel”), a derivative of spillo.^[12][2][3] In literary use a feminine spilla has meant a spout from which water gushes.^[13]

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 k l m n 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 e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 939
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
12. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca