starnuto

Forms

starnuto m (plural starnuti)^[1] Variants are the less common sternuto and the popular stranuto.^[2][3][4] Old forms include Old Italian istarnuto.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin sternutum (“a sneeze”), from sternuō (“to sneeze”).^[6][7][2][1] The Late Latin noun replaced classical sternumentum.^[8][9] The verb starnutare continues Latin sternutāre, which is recorded only from Petronius, though Cicero's sternutamentum suggests it existed earlier.^[10]

The Latin verb has sure but only approximate cognates, as is usual for imitative verbs: Ancient Greek πτάρνυμαι (ptárnumai, “to sneeze”), Middle Irish sreod (“sneeze”) and Welsh ystrew (“sneeze”).^[6][11] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *(p)st(e)rnu- (“to sneeze”), with an uncertain initial cluster.^[11] He notes that the sound of sneezing may have reshaped the word in every language, but that the shared internal ⟨-r-⟩ makes independent invention unlikely.^[11][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is recorded before 1320.^[6][7][2] The TLIO's first record is the Tuscan Milione of the early 14th century.^[5] At the time the sneeze was believed to come from the brain to expel surplus humours.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian sneezes were also read as omens: Cecco d'Ascoli names sternuti beside the haruspices among signs that are sometimes true.^[5][12] A plant that makes one sneeze was called starnuto as well.^[5] In Boccaccio's Decameron a character opens a small door on hearing il suono dello starnuto, the sound of a sneeze.^[12][13] The Crescenzi translation (about 1350) uses the word for the reflex itself.^[10]

The Tuscan proverb Amici da starnuti, il più che tu ne cavi è un Dio t'aiuti mocks friends whose help goes no further than a blessing.^[13] In modern Italian è come fare uno starnuto says that something is very quick and easy.^[2][4][14]

Timeline

• Before 1320 – The word is first recorded.^[6][7]
• Early 14th century – The Tuscan Milione uses it.^[5]
• c. 1350 – The Crescenzi translation uses it.^[10]
• 15th century – The variant sternuto is found in Bellincioni.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sneeze: a sudden, noisy reflex breath out through the nose after a deep breath in, caused by irritation of the nasal lining.^{[7][2][3][15]}
2. (figurative, colloquial) In è come fare uno starnuto, of something very quick or easy to do.^[2][4][14]

Related words

• starnutare
• starnutire
• Latin sternuō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b c d e f Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3620
10. ^ a b c 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 de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 20, 92
13. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
15. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli