tappeto

Forms

tappeto m (plural tappeti)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin tapētum (“carpet, rug”), which beside tapēte renders Ancient Greek τάπης (tápēs).^[2][3][4][1] Nocentini sees the double ⟨pp⟩ as due to tappo;^[5][4][6] Plautus already has the plural tappetia.^[5][4][6] Devoto takes tappētum as formed on that plural, from Greek ταπήτια (tapḗtia).^[7] Nocentini classes the word as a Latin loan of foreign origin through Greek.^[5]

The Greek word is an eastern loan, probably Persian, from a root meaning “to weave” that also gave the source of taffetà.^[5][8][9] It reached the West a second time at the time of the First Crusade, through Byzantine ταπήτιον (tapḗtion), pronounced with /i/: this gave Old French tapis, recorded from the 12th century, and, through French, Spanish tapiz “tapestry”.^[2][5][10]

The same Latin word is Venetian tapeo and Old Bolognese tapedo (1290).^[10][6][11] Spanish tapete and Portuguese tapete, from the Latin variant in ⟨-e⟩, are learned according to the DEI.^[5][6] The Latin plural tapēta went into Old High German teppid or teppih, now German Teppich, and Latin also gave Old English tæppet.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Medieval Latin documents of Farfa have the word in 1119.^[2] The first Italian record is in the Novellino, of the late 13th century, with the sense “thick cloth laid on the floor”.^[2][6] The tale says: Il siniscalco, ovvero tesoriere prese quelli marchi, e mise uno tappeto in una sala, e versollivi suso (“The seneschal, or treasurer, took those marks, laid a carpet in a hall and poured them out on it”).^[12]

Semantic evolution

In the early 14th century a tappeto also covered tables, beds and pack animals: the gabelle statute of Siena (1301–1303) lists tappeti dal letto and tappeti da banchieri o da soma.^[2][12] Several phrases are calques of French: mettere sul tappeto “to bring up for discussion” (18th century, Salvini), from mettre une affaire sur le tapis, and tappeto verde, the gaming table, from tapis vert (1607), later also a lawn.^[2][6] Bombardamento a tappeto renders English carpet-bombing, after the raids of Marshal Arthur Tedder in Tunisia in 1943.^[6]

Later extensions are a thick layer covering something (1891), a mat used in gymnastics and other sports (1953) and the floor of a boxing ring (1965), hence mandare al tappeto, “to knock down”.^[2][3] The diminutive tappetino dates from 1865.^[5]

Timeline

• 1119 – The word is recorded in Medieval Latin at Farfa.^[2]
• 1290 – Old Bolognese tapedo is recorded.^[6]
• Late 13th century – The Novellino uses tappeto.^[2]
• 1301–1303 – A Sienese statute uses it for a cloth covering tables.^[2]
• 1865 – Tappetino is first recorded.^[5]
• 1891 – Petrocchi records the sense “thick layer covering something”.^[2]
• 1943 – Bombardamento a tappeto is used of the bombing in Tunisia.^[6]
• 1953 – The sense “sports mat” is recorded.^[2]
• 1965 – The sense “floor of the boxing ring” is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A carpet or rug: a thick fabric, often knotted and patterned, laid on floors or hung on walls: un vecchio tappeto cinese.^{[3][8][13][1]}
2. A cloth covering a table or other furniture.^[3][8][14]
3. A soft, even layer covering a surface: un tappeto di foglie secche.^[3][14][15]
4. (sports) A mat cushioning falls in gymnastics, wrestling and other sports.^[3][13][16]
5. (boxing) The canvas covering the floor of the ring: andare al tappeto.^[3][2][16]
6. (jargon) A montage of archive footage shown as a visual background to interviews or debates.^[3]

Word family

• tappetino
• sottotappeto
• tappetare
• tappetificio

Related words

• tappezzare
• tappezzeria
• Latin tapete
• French tapis

Usage notes

Common phrases include tappeto rosso (also red carpet), tappeto erboso (a lawn), tappeto volante, tappeto da preghiera and a tappeto, “thorough, covering everything”.^{[8][14][3][16]} Pagare sul tappeto, “to pay cash at once”, is obsolete.^[14][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3715
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 438
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
10. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 974
12. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
15. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
16. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana