tornio

Forms

tornio m (plural torni)^[1] The older form is Old Italian torno, now archaic or regional.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old Italian torno in a remade form, and that is inherited from Latin tŏrnus (“lathe”), from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos, “carpenter's compass; lathe”).^[2][5][6][1] Most dictionaries take the new singular ⟨tornio⟩ from the plural ⟨torni⟩, understood as ⟨tornii⟩.^{[2][7][6][8][3]} Nocentini finds this unlikely, since the word is mostly used in the singular, and prefers an adjective *torneus that came to stand for the noun, as in arnia;^[5][1] Wiktionary also suggests *torneus.^[5][1] The stressed vowel varies between open and closed ⟨o⟩, influenced by the unstressed forms of the related verbs.^[2]

The same Latin word gave French tour, Occitan torn, Catalan torn, Spanish torno and Portuguese torno.^[5][9] Latin also made from it the verb tornō (“to turn on a lathe”), the source of tornare.^[5][2] The Greek word belongs with the aorist τορεῖν (toreîn, “to bore through”), and Wiktionary derives it from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, twist, turn”).^[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the 14th-century Italian translation of Plutarch's Lives, which says that Alexander was skilled “in the art of the lathe” (nell'arte del tornio).^[2][10] Zingarelli dates the word before 1304.^[11]

Semantic evolution

In older Italian torno remained the more usual form: Ariosto uses it in the Orlando furioso of 1516.^[2] Sacchetti mocks ears “pierced on the lathe” for wearing rings, and the verb tornire, to turn on a lathe and figuratively to polish a piece of work, is recorded from 1612.^[10][2] The worker at the lathe, the tornitore, is recorded from 1667.^[2]

The modern word names the machine tool that spins the workpiece while the cutting tool moves along it, with many types (tornio parallelo, verticale, a revolver).^[6][3] The potter's wheel, tornio da vasaio, is recorded from 1931, and specialised language has the competing tornatrice for an automatic lathe.^[2] Figuratively, limbs fatte al tornio are finely shaped.^[11][12]

Timeline

• 14th century – The translation of Plutarch's Lives has tornio.^[2]
• 1516 – Ariosto uses the older form torno.^[2]
• 1612 – Tornire is recorded in Buonarroti the Younger.^[2]
• 1667 – Tornitore is recorded.^[2]
• 1931 – Tornio da vasaio is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A lathe: a machine tool that rotates the workpiece while a cutting tool moves along it, used to shape metal, wood and other materials.^[6][4][8]
2. Tornio da vasaio, the potter's wheel.^[4][3][11]

Word family

• tornire
• tornito
• tornitore
• tornitura
• torniaio

Related words

• torno
• tornare
• Latin tornus

Usage notes

Fatto al tornio is said figuratively of finely shaped arms or legs.^[11][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
4. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3831
8. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli