teglia

Forms

teglia f (plural teglie)^[1] The old Florentine form is tegghia.^[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin tēgula (“tile; lid”), through a shortened Vulgar Latin *tegla.^[2][4][1][5] In Late Latin the word also meant a pan or casserole.^[6][5] DEI explains this sense by the influence of Ancient Greek τήγανον (tḗganon, “frying pan”), but Wiktionary finds a borrowing from the Greek word hard on formal grounds.^[7][1] Medieval Latin teglia is recorded at Bologna in 1196, and the spelling tecla at Modena in the 14th century shows the loss of the vowel.^[2]

The regular Tuscan outcome of ⟨gl⟩ was the velar of tegghia, the form Dante uses.^[2][5][1] Nocentini and Wiktionary explain the form with /ʎ/ as a reaction against rustic pronunciations of the type agghio for aglio.^[6][1] Devoto calls it a northern-style treatment, as in maglia beside macchia.^[8] The word is a doublet of tegola “roof tile”.^[1][2]

The Latin word gave French tuile, Occitan teula, Catalan teula, Spanish teja and Portuguese telha, all meaning “tile”.^[9] DEI derives German Tiegel (“crucible, pan”) from it, as Körting had proposed.^[7][10] The Latin word is formed from tegō (“to cover”) with the suffix -ula.^[11][1] The verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“to cover”).^[12][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini dates the word to 1287.^[6] In DELI the first record is Dante's tegghia (1300–1313), for a low pan with no handle in which cakes and stews are cooked.^[2] In Inferno 29 two sinners lean on each other come a scaldar si appoggia tegghia a tegghia (“as one pan is leaned against another to warm”).^[13]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century the form teglia appears in the medical writings of Zucchero Bencivenni.^[2][7] Tommaseo also records teglia for a deep lid of earthenware or iron put over a dish or pan, which browned the food when heated.^[13] Derivatives followed: teglina in the Tesoro dei poveri of the 14th century, tegliuzza in Boccaccio, teglione in the 17th century and tegliata, the contents of a pan, in the 18th.^[7]

From the 19th century Florentine and Pisan speech used teglia jokingly for a low hat with a wide brim, as worn by priests.^[7][4] Today the word is the usual name of the baking tin or tray.^[4][3]

Timeline

• 1196 – Medieval Latin teglia is recorded at Bologna.^[2]
• 1287 – Nocentini's date for the Italian word.^[6]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses tegghia in the Inferno.^[2]
• 14th century – Zucchero Bencivenni uses the form teglia.^[2]
• 14th century – The spelling tecla is found in the Medieval Latin of Modena.^[2]
• 18th century – Tegliata is recorded.^[7]
• 19th century – Rigutini and Fanfani record teglia “wide-brimmed hat”.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A baking tin or tray: a low-sided kitchen pan, round or rectangular, usually without handles, for cooking food in the oven: Ungi bene la teglia prima di versare l'impasto.^[4][3][5]
2. The amount of food a teglia holds: Abbiamo finito una teglia intera di parmigiana.^[4][3][5]
3. (jocular) A hat with a broad, flat brim, especially one worn by priests.^[4][3][14]

Word family

• tegliata
• teglina
• teglietta

Related words

• tegola
• Latin tegula
• German Tiegel

Usage notes

DEI and the GDLI also list an obsolete teglia “lime tree”, a form of tiglia recorded at Venice in 1230 and 1233.^[7][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: 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 c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3739
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
13. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
15. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca