tafano

Forms

tafano m (plural tafani)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *tafānus, a rustic or dialect variant of tabānus (“gadfly”).^[2][3][4][1] Nocentini and Devoto take the /f/ in place of /b/ for an Osco-Umbrian rustic pronunciation, as in bufalo and scrofa.^[3][5] DELI and Battisti–Alessio doubt this, because southern Italy has only the type with /v/: Neapolitan tavane, Sicilian tavana.^[2][6][3] DELI and Battisti–Alessio point instead to the Etruscan personal names Taphane and Taphunias and think the word may be Etruscan.^[2][6][5]

The form with /b/ survives in Occitan tavan and Spanish tábano, while French taon and Portuguese tavão continue the Late Latin tabō;^[3][7] The Romanian word tăun may go back to either.^[3][7] The northern form Venetian tavan also has /v/.^[8][9]

The origin of the Latin word, attested from Varro, is unknown.^[10][1] Nocentini calls it a pre-Latin substrate word.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Veronese poems of Giacomino da Verona, from the second half of the 13th century, in the northern form tavan: the angel lets in “neither horsefly nor fly nor serpent” (tavan ne mosca né bixa né serpent).^[9][11][2] The Tuscan form appears in Dante's Inferno, where dogs in summer are bitten “by fleas, by flies or by horseflies” (o da pulci o da mosche o da tafani).^[2][11][12]

Semantic evolution

The insect name has stayed the same, and zoology uses it for the family Tabanidae, especially Tabanus bovinus.^[13][4] The figurative sense, an importunate person who sponges on others, is recorded in 1879.^[2][12] The joking phrase all'alba de' tafani “at horsefly dawn” meant late in the morning, since the insects only fly when the sun is high.^[12][8]

The verb tafanare “to pester” is recorded in 1824.^[3] Tafanario, a jocular word for the backside, is recorded in 1726 and alludes to the horsefly's habit of stinging animals' rumps.^[4] In northern dialects the word took other meanings: Milanese tavàn also means a simpleton.^[8]

Timeline

• Second half of the 13th century – Giacomino da Verona writes tavan.^[9][2]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses tafani in the Inferno.^[2]
• 1726 – Tafanario is first recorded.^[4]
• 1824 – Tafanare is first recorded.^[3]
• 1879 – The figurative sense “pest, sponger” is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (zoology) A horsefly: a large fly of the family Tabanidae, whose females suck the blood of cattle, horses and other mammals.^[4][14][15]
2. (figurative) A pest, an annoying and insistent person: Quel tafano non smette di chiedermi soldi.^[4][14][16]

Word family

• tafanare
• tafanario
• intafanato

Related words

• Latin tabānus

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 f g h Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3696
7. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 969
9. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ 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, 665
12. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
14. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
15. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
16. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli