traliccio

Forms

traliccio m (plural tralicci)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian tralicio and Old Italian trelìccio.^[2] Medieval Latin documents have terlixa (Ragusa, 1300), terlixia (Verona, 1407) and tarlisio (Santa Bona di Vidor, 1462).^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *trilīcium, from the classical adjective Latin trilix (“woven with three threads”).^[3][4][5][1] The adjective is formed from Latin tri- + licium (“thread, leash of a loom”), from trēs (“three”).^[3][5][6] The first syllable was changed under the influence of the common prefix tra-, which also gave tralice.^[4][6] Devoto suggests the influence of trave instead.^[7] V. Pisani proposed a different source, Latin laqueus (“noose”), in 1979.^[3]

The same word is French treillis, Occitan tresliz, Catalan terlis, Spanish terliz and Friulian terlis.^[4][8] The Latin word was also borrowed into German as Drillich.^[8] The origin of licium is unknown.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DEI's first record is in the statutes of the Siena customs of 1301–1303, which list tralicci among taxed goods; the sense there is a coarse cloth.^[10][11] DELI's first record is a Prato document of 1385, where it is a strong linen or hemp cloth for covering mattresses and pillows.^[3]

Semantic evolution

For centuries the word named the strong cloth of linen, hemp or later cotton used for mattress covers, pillows and sacks.^[3][11][5] Tommaseo describes it as a white or broadly striped linen cloth and also records a thin, shiny cloth of the same name.^[11]

In the 20th century the idea of crossed threads passed to metal: a lattice of iron bars for support is recorded in 1918, and the steel pylon that carries high-voltage lines in 1963.^[3] GRADIT also gives a light frame or trellis of cane or wood.^[5][12]

Timeline

• 1300 – Medieval Latin terlixa is recorded at Ragusa.^[2]
• 1301–1303 – First Italian record, in the statutes of the Siena customs.^[10]
• 1385 – A Prato document names traliccio as a cloth for mattresses and pillows.^[3]
• 1918 – The sense “metal lattice for support” is recorded.^[3]
• 1963 – The sense “pylon for power lines” is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (textiles) ticking: a coarse, strong cloth of hemp, jute or cotton, used for mattress covers, pillows and sacks.^[5][13][6]
2. A lattice structure of metal sections joined together, for support or covering, as on building sites.^[5][13]
3. A tall steel pylon carrying an overhead power line: un traliccio della linea elettrica.^[5][12][6]
4. A light frame or trellis of canes, rushes or strips of wood.^[5][12][14]

Word family

• tralicciatura

Related words

• tralice
• liccio
• Latin trilix
• French treillis

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 141
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 449
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ 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 Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3856
11. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ 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
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli