stazzo

Forms

stazzo m (plural stazzi)^[1] An old variant is Old Italian stazio.^[2][3] In the dialects the word is Calabrian stazzu and Abruzzese stattse, “sheepfold”, and Logudorese istatiu.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin statiō (“a standing still, halt; abode”), continued in its nominative form, as etymologists agree;^[6][7][4] Venetian stazio “mooring place for gondolas” comes from the nominative too.^[6][7][4] Because a noun for a thing rarely continues the nominative, Rohlfs supposed Vulgar Latin *statium instead.^[6][7][8] In Late Latin the word also meant “stable”.^[7]

The accusative gave stagione and the old stazzone “shop”, and was borrowed as stazione;^[5][1] Wiktionary counts all of these and stazio as doublets.^[5][1] The Latin noun is formed from stō (“to stand”) with -tiō.^[9][1] The word belongs to central and southern Italy, and in Sardinia the word names a farmhouse.^[4][10][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Zingarelli dates the first record to 1266.^[2] GDLI's earliest example is in Brunetto Latini, where the word means a dwelling: e vidi in bello stazzo / scritto per sottilianza (“and I saw, in a fine dwelling, written with subtlety”).^[8]

Semantic evolution

Giovanni Villani used stazzo for a fold or dwelling, and Annibal Caro in the 16th century for a halting place.^[8][4] The pastoral sense is recorded in Medieval Latin at Ravenna in 1332, stazzium for a fold, and in Italian from Marco Lastri (1801–1803); Prati records it for the folds of the Roman Campagna.^[6][11]

D'Annunzio wrote: Ora in terra d'Abruzzi i miei pastori / lascian gli stazzi e vanno verso il mare (“Now in the land of Abruzzo my shepherds leave the folds and go towards the sea”).^[8][12] The older sense of a halting place or dwelling is now archaic or regional.^[13][8] In young people's slang the word has been used for an awkward person.^[10]

Timeline

• 1266 – First record, according to Zingarelli.^[2]
• 1332 – Medieval Latin stazzium “fold” is recorded at Ravenna.^[6]
• 16th century – Annibal Caro uses the word for a halting place.^[4]
• 1801–1803 – Marco Lastri uses it for a fold of livestock.^[6][13]

Meanings

Noun

1. An open-air pen or fold where livestock are kept at night, especially during transumanza.^[13][12][14]
2. (archaic) A stopping place; a dwelling.^[13][12][8]
3. (youth slang) A clumsy, awkward person.^[10]

Related words

• stagione
• stazione
• stazzone
• stazio
• addiaccio
• stabbio
• Latin statiō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
4. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3623
5. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e f Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 948
12. ^ a b c 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
14. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)