trappeto

Forms

trappeto m (plural trappeti)^[1] The variant trapeto is also standard.^[2][3][4] Older forms are trapetro (16th century, Ramusio), tarpeto and trapetto.^[5][6][7] Sicilian trappitu is Sicilian, and Rome had trappito.^[5][6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin trapētum, a southern word.^[8][7][2][1] The Latin word, also neuter trapetum and in the plural trapetes, named an olive mill and is already in Cato.^[9][5] DEI notes that this plural looks like Oscan phonetics.^[5] The form Medieval Latin trappetum is recorded in 1200 at San Giovanni in Venere in the Abruzzo.^[5]

The Latin word came from Greek, probably the Greek of southern Italy.^[5][8] Nocentini and the Treccani give an unrecorded Ancient Greek *τραπητόν (*trapētón) which Nocentini takes as a dissimilated form of an unrecorded word for a grape and olive press.^[8][10] It comes from τραπέω (trapéō, “to tread grapes”), properly to trample.^[8][10][1] DEI cites a Greek word for a press from Hesychius.^[5] Wiktionary relates the verb to τρέπω (trépō, “to turn (a press)”) and traces it to Proto-Indo-European *trep- (“to turn”), and DEI compares Latin trepidus.^[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Zingarelli dates the word before 1347.^[11] In a passage of Balducci Pegolotti the plural trapetti is explained as frantoi, the olive mills of the land of Bari.^[6] Other sources give much later dates for the Italian word: the 16th century in the variant trapetro (GRADIT), 1840 (Sabatini–Coletti) and 1895 (Nocentini, Devoto–Oli).^{[7][12][8][2]}

Semantic evolution

The word has stayed in the centre and south, for the olive press and also for the building that houses it.^[6][13][11] DEI records it at Palermo in 1464 and at Macerata in 1553, and Canevazzi has it in 1892.^[5][14] In the plural Old Italian also had a feminine le trappete.^[6]

C. Levi wrote that his landlord had warned him he would often be disturbed by the noise of the trappeto, the olive mill below his rooms.^[10]

Timeline

• 1200 – Medieval Latin trappetum is recorded at San Giovanni in Venere.^[5]
• Before 1347 – First Italian record.^[11]
• 1348 – Sicilian trappitu is recorded in Senisio.^[5]
• 1428 – Old Roman trappito is recorded.^[5]
• 1464 – The word is recorded at Palermo.^[5]
• 1553 – The word is recorded at Macerata.^[5]
• 16th century – Ramusio uses trapetro.^[5][7]
• 1892 – Canevazzi's dictionary has trappeto.^[5][14]

Meanings

Noun

1. (regional, central and southern Italy) An olive press; an oil mill, also the building that houses it: In autunno il trappeto lavorava giorno e notte.^{[7][2][12][6][1]}

Related words

• frantoio
• Latin trapetus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
4. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3865
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
14. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 1011