sputo

Forms

sputo m (plural sputi)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin spūtum (“spittle”), the neuter past participle of spuō (“to spit”) used as a noun.^[2][3][4][5] The same word is Dalmatian spoit, Romansh spüd and Friulian sput;^[6] Spanish and Portuguese esputo is a learned form.^[6] The verb sputare continues the frequentative Latin spūtō.^[7]

Latin spuō belongs to an onomatopoeic Indo-European formation for spitting, Proto-Indo-European *sp(i)uH-, whose beginning has been remade by sound symbolism in several languages.^[8] Its relatives include Ancient Greek πτύω (ptúō, “to spit”) and Old English spīwan.^[8][1]

Sicilian and the northern dialects have another type, Sicilian spuazza, which DEI traces to Vulgar Latin *spūtāceum.^[9][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Iacopone da Todi, who died in 1306, for the matter brought up from the respiratory tract and spat out.^[10][2] His verse speaks of la saracchiosa tossa and of lo sputo fetente, che conturba la gente, “the stinking spittle that upsets people”.^[11]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian devotional prose the spittle was often that of the Passion: Cavalca lists delli sputi among the insults Christ endured.^[11] Francesco Redi used sputo di sangue for haemoptysis.^[9] Dialect forms include spudo and spuo.^[11]

Two figurative phrases are common: coprire di sputi, to insult someone gravely, and con lo sputo, of something stuck on flimsily or put together badly.^[3][12][13] In colloquial Italian the word also means a tiny thing, a small amount or a very short distance.^[12][14]

Timeline

• Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses the word.^[10][2][3]
• 14th century – Cavalca writes of the sputi of the Passion.^[11]
• First half of the 14th century – The derivative sputacchio is recorded.^[2]
• 17th century – Redi uses sputo di sangue.^[9] Sputacchiera “spittoon” appears.^[2]
• 1916 – Sputacchina, the froghopper, is first recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. spit, spittle: saliva expelled from the mouth, often mixed with mucus, phlegm or blood: uno sputo sanguigno.^{[3][12][14][4][13]}
2. (uncommon) The act of spitting.^{[3][12][4][13]}
3. (colloquial) A tiny thing, a very small amount, or a very short distance: la stazione è a uno sputo dall'albergo.^[12][14]

Word family

• sputacchio
• sputacchiera
• sputacchina
• sputaglio
• sputazzo

Related words

• Latin spuō

Usage notes

Attaccato con lo sputo describes something that will not hold.^[12][4][15] The pejorative is sputaccio, regionally sputazzo.^[13][4]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3607
10. ^ a b Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ 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, p. 19, 1078
12. ^ 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
13. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
14. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli