torchio

Forms

torchio m (plural torchi)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian torcho (13th century), Old Italian torclo and Old Italian torgio.^[2][3][4] The dialects have Ligurian torciu in Genoa and Friulian turcli in Friuli.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin torculum (“press, wine press, olive press”).^[6][2][7][1] The Latin noun was first an adjective, torculus (“of a press; serving to twist”), made from torqueō (“to twist”): the press was worked by a screw or by a rope that winds up.^[6][8][9] Beside it stands torcolo, the learned form of the same Latin word, which was also the usual name for the press in older Italian and in the dialects.^[6][1][10] Some derivatives are formed on torchio (torchiare, torchiatura, torchietto), others on torcolo (torcoliere).^[6]

The same word is French treuil, Occitan trolh, Catalan trull, Romansh tuorkel and Friulian turkli.^[2][11][5] DELI also cites the Ladin name of the vine, Ladin tòrtl, traced by Salvioni to torculum.^[6] At Verona Medieval Latin torculetus is recorded in the 15th century.^[5]

torqueō comes from a Proto-Italic causative verb, from a PIE causative Proto-Indo-European *torkʷ-eie- (“to twist”); its cognates include Hittite tarku- (“to dance”).^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the word to the 13th century, in the form torcho.^[2][3] Old northern texts use torgio for the wine press: in the vernacular Elucidario the wine is made of many grapes, trodden and pressed “sur lo torgio”.^[4] DELI's first record of torchio itself is from Pietro Andrea Mattioli in 1550, as a machine that squeezes a material slowly between two plates, one fixed and one moving;^[6][5] DEI dates it to 1544 in the same author.^[6][5]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century the word was used for presses of olives, seeds and grape marc;^[4] Leonardo puts ground seed mixed with linseed oil “sotto ’l torchio”.^[4] From the press for grapes and olives it passed to the printing press: DEI dates this to Citolini (1561) and DELI to Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger (1612).^[5][6] Expressions from printing followed, such as far gemere i torchi (“to make the presses groan”, to print, often works of little value) and essere sotto il torchio, to be in the press, recorded in 1922.^[6][12][13]

From the printing phrase came the figurative sense: essere sotto torchio or mettere sotto torchio is to be, or put someone, under hard strain, and especially under close questioning, dated 1961 by DELI.^[6][14][3] In anatomy torchio addominale names the muscles of the abdomen and chest that press on the abdominal cavity.^[12][15] The verb torchiare (17th century) followed the same path: from pressing olives and grapes to, colloquially, questioning someone at length (1965).^[6][2]

Timeline

• 13th century – The word is recorded as torcho.^[2][3]
• 1544 – Mattioli uses torchio for the press.^[5]
• 1550 – DELI's dated record of torchio, in Mattioli.^[6]
• 1561 – Torchio is used for the printing press, in Citolini.^[5]
• 1612 – Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger uses the word for the printing press.^[6]
• 1862 – Torchiatura is recorded.^[6][2]
• 1922 – Essere sotto il torchio, “to be in the press”, appears in the Zingarelli dictionary.^[6]
• 1961 – The figurative sense of hard strain or close questioning is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A press: a machine that exerts growing pressure on a material placed between two parallel plates, one fixed and one moving, usually driven by a screw; used for grapes, olives, cheese and other materials.^[7][3][14]
2. (printing) The hand printing press, the oldest kind, now used only for fine editions, proofs and prints such as lithographs: appena uscito dai torchi, just published.^[7][3][16]
3. (figurative) Hard strain or pressing questions, in sotto torchio or sotto il torchio: l'hanno tenuto sotto torchio per tutta la mattina.^[3][16][15]
4. (anatomy) torchio addominale: the muscles of the abdomen and chest that, contracting together, reduce the volume of the abdominal cavity.^[3][10][12]

Word family

• torchiare
• torchiatura
• torchietto
• torchiatore

Related words

• torcolo
• torcere
• Latin torculum

Usage notes

An obsolete torchio meant a big candle, one thick taper or several small ones twisted together, recorded in Boccaccio and Sacchetti;^[7][5][13] GRADIT dates it 1348–1353, DEI finds it at Rome in the 13th century.^[7][5][13] Devoto–Oli, Treccani and the GDLI take it as a metaphor from torchio “press”, from the screw of the press, while Zingarelli and Prati derive it from a spoken Latin *torculum “thing wound round”, from torques “necklace”.^{[3][14][17][12][18]} The old word also meant a necklace (Petrarch) and a pliable twig used to tie sheaves and faggots.^[7][12][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3826
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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 e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
12. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
15. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
16. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
17. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
18. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 1000