stomaco

Forms

stomaco m (plural stomaci or stomachi)^[1] Old Italian forms include stomacho, stommaco and northern stomego, stomago and stomeg.^[2][3] Tuscan has stombaco, with an inserted /b/ as in gombito.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin stomachus (“gullet; stomach; taste; irritation”), a learned word.^[5][6][7][1] DEI notes that it is learned everywhere, even in the dialects, and Körting says the same of all its Romance forms.^[4][8] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek στόμαχος (stómakhos, “gullet; mouth of the stomach; stomach”), formed from στόμα (stóma, “mouth”).^[5][6][7][9]

Latin used the word for the gullet and then the stomach, and also for taste, liking, irritation and anger, with the verb stomachor (“to be annoyed”).^[5] The same learned word is French estomac, Catalan estómac, Spanish estómago and Portuguese estômago.^[6][10] In the dialects of northern Italy, Friuli and France it often means “chest”;^[10][4] DEI explains the shift by competition with magone.^[10][4] The forms Lombard stombèc of the Valtellina and stomèc of Bergamo have moved the stress.^[4][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is Andrea da Grosseto's Tuscan translation of Albertano of Brescia, 1268, for the organ of digestion in people and animals.^[2] DELI's first date is Bono Giamboni, before 1292.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian medicine spoke of a stomaco flemmatico or ventoso, and the stomach was already the seat of disgust and dislike: avere in stomaco meant to be nauseated by something, and portare sopra stomaco to bear someone ill will.^[2][11] The word could also mean the outside of the belly or the breast.^[2][7] The sense “indignation”, close to Latin usage, is recorded in Bernardo Davanzati in the 16th century.^[4][12]

The sense “ability to put up with disgusting or tiresome people and things” is dated before 1729, in Anton Maria Salvini.^[5] In colloquial use it has come to mean nerve, cheek, as in having the stomach to say something outrageous.^[7][11] Derivatives include stomachevole “nauseating” (before 1375, Boccaccio) and the verb stomacare “to sicken” (before 1484).^[5]

Timeline

• 1268 – Andrea da Grosseto uses the word.^[2]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni has stomaco.^[5]
• Before 1375 – Boccaccio uses stomachevole.^[5]
• Before 1484 – Feo Belcari uses stomacare “to feel sick”.^[5]
• 16th century – Davanzati uses the word for indignation.^[4]
• Before 1729 – Salvini uses it for the ability to tolerate unpleasant things.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (anatomy) The stomach: the organ of the digestive system between the oesophagus and the intestine, where food is first digested: Stasera ho un po' di mal di stomaco.^[7][13][14]
2. The part of the body over the stomach, the belly: Ha preso una gomitata allo stomaco..^[14][7]
3. (figurative) The ability to put up with unpleasant, disgusting or tiresome people or situations: Ci vuole un bello stomaco per lavorare con lui.^[7][13][11]
4. (colloquial) nerve, cheek: Ha avuto lo stomaco di chiedermi altri soldi.^[7][11]
5. (archaic) Indignation, scorn.^[7][14]

Word family

• stomacale
• stomacare
• stomachevole
• stomachico
• controstomaco
• stomachino
• stomacuccio

Related words

• stoma
• gastrico
• Latin stomachus
• Ancient Greek στόμαχος (stómakhos)

Usage notes

Many idioms use the word: dare di stomaco “to vomit”, avere qualcuno sullo stomaco “to be unable to stand someone”, avere il pelo sullo stomaco “to be ruthless”, and a stomaco vuoto “on an empty stomach”.^{[7][13][11][15]} The plural is stomaci or stomachi.^[13][14][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
4. ^ a b c d e f g Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3640
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 953
13. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana