tralice

Forms

tralice (invariable)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin trilix (“woven with three threads”), from its accusative form, the same Latin word that underlies traliccio (“ticking; lattice”).^[2][3][4][1] Nocentini sees the first syllable drawn to the prefix tra-, as in that word.^[5] Devoto took it as the Latin word crossed with the Italian one.^[6]

How a word for cloth came to mean “slanting” is not clear, and Treccani says so.^[7][4][1] DELI and Battaglia suggest that “worked crosswise”, of the weave, passed to the oblique look.^[2][8] Nocentini explains that of the three threads two run straight and one across, and Zingarelli that the Latin adjective was the attribute of a three-thread fabric through which one looked.^[5][9] Tommaseo still recorded older guesses from Latin trāns (“across”) with licium (“thread”), or with locus (“place”).^[10]

The adjective is formed from Latin tri- + licium (“thread”), the prefix being the combining form of trēs (“three”).^[1][11][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's earliest example, from Carlo Roberto Dati before 1676, uses in tralice of something set at an angle, which Gherardini's supplement explains as “square”, set like a carpenter's square.^[2] Zingarelli dates the phrase to 1688.^[9] Lorenzo Bellini, before 1704, uses it in the sense “obliquely”, of cloth cut across rather than along the thread.^[2][10]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th and 19th centuries the phrase served in technical prose for anything laid diagonally: Marco Lastri (before 1811) has a ditch dug in tralice, o in diagonale, and Guerrazzi bandages run in tralice under the armpit.^[2][8] Panzini's dictionary of 1923 still called it a Florentine adverbial phrase.^[2]

Outside Tuscany the word is known above all from guardare in tralice, to look sidelong or askance, as in Pascoli's Paolo guardava, timido, in tralice (“Paolo looked, shyly, askance”).^[4][9] DELI notes that the word moved from the fabric to the look.^[2]

Timeline

• Before 1676 – Carlo Roberto Dati uses in tralice.^[2]
• 1688 – Zingarelli's first date for the phrase.^[9]
• Before 1704 – Lorenzo Bellini uses it of cloth cut on the bias.^[2][10]
• Before 1811 – Marco Lastri uses it in the sense “diagonally”.^[2]
• 1923 – Panzini labels it a Florentine adverbial phrase.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Only in the phrases in tralice and, less often, di tralice: obliquely, crosswise, diagonally, on the bias: tagliare il tessuto in tralice.^{[3][12][9][13]}
2. guardare in tralice: to look sidelong, askance or from under the eyelashes.^[9][7][13]

Related words

• traliccio
• liccio
• Latin trilix

Usage notes

The stress is tralìce;^[11][9][8] tràlice, often heard, is considered wrong.^[11][9][8] The dictionaries class the word differently: an invariable adjective for GRADIT and Wiktionary, an invariable masculine noun for Devoto–Oli and Battaglia.^{[3][1][12][8]}

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 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
8. ^ a b c d e f Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 141
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
12. ^ 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
13. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli