Etymologically
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trappola

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈtrap.po.la/[1]

Forms

trappola f (plural trappole)[1] Old forms are Old Italian trappula (13th century, Rome) and Old Modenese Old Italian tràpola (1327).[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Frankish *trappa (“trap”) with a diminutive suffix, like trappula, recorded in 1196.[4][5][6][1] The simple form is attested as Late Latin trappa in the Salic Law, in the clause “Siquis turturem de trappa furaverit”, “if anyone steals a turtle-dove from a trap”.[7][5][8] Devoto–Oli, Gabrielli and Devoto call the source Lombardic trappa (“snare”) instead,[9][10][11] and Zingarelli regards the origin of the base word as disputed, perhaps imitative.[12]

Nocentini places the word in a Germanic family Proto-Germanic *trapp-, *tramp- describing walking with small steps, so that a trap was first a device that hinders walking; from the same family come trampolo (“stilt”), rattrappire and tarpare.[5] Zaccaria compares Old High German trapa (“noose, snare”) and English trap.[7] The Frankish word gave French trappe (“trapdoor”), Occitan trapa, Catalan trapa, Spanish trampa and Portuguese trapa.[5][13]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word before 1320.[6] DELI's first record is the Italian translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi (about 1350), which describes catching mice with traps of hollowed wood in which a heavy stick falls when a small peg gives way.[4][8]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense “snare, trick” is already in Jacopo Passavanti (1354).[4] Franco Sacchetti tells of a band of children carrying a trap with a mouse in it into the middle of a square.[3] From the 16th century trappola could also be a lie told to deceive, a sense Sabatini and Treccani now call regional.[14][15][16]

A colloquial sense, a contraption, tool or vehicle that works badly, is recorded in 1961.[4][15] Modern technical uses include the explosive booby trap, the ion trap of cathode-ray tubes and, in geology, a structure in which oil collects.[6][12] Derivatives include trappolare (15th century) and intrappolare (16th century).[5]

Timeline

  • Late 5th or 6th century – Trappa appears in the Salic Law.[6][5]
  • 1196 – Medieval Latin trappula is recorded.[6][7]
  • Before 1320 – Trappola is first recorded in Italian.[6]
  • 1327 – Old Modenese tràpola is recorded.[2]
  • About 1350 – The Italian Crescenzi uses it for an animal trap.[4]
  • 1354 – Jacopo Passavanti uses the sense “snare, trick”.[4]
  • 15th century – Trappolare is recorded.[5]
  • 1961 – The sense “badly working contraption” is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A trap for catching animals: Il contadino mise una trappola nel granaio.[6][9][15]
  2. (military) A device, especially an explosive one, set off by an unwary victim; a booby trap.[6][9][12]
  3. (figurative) A trick or snare set to deceive someone: tendere una trappola.[6][9][12]
  4. (figurative) A situation with no way out: sentirsi in trappola.[6][9][12]
  5. (colloquial, humorous) A machine or vehicle that works badly: Quella macchina è una vera trappola.[6][9][15]
  6. (regional) A lie, a tall story.[6][15][16]
  7. (electronics) Trappola ionica, an ion trap in a cathode-ray tube.[9][15][12]
  8. (geology) A structure of rock strata in which oil or gas collects.[6]

Word family

  • trappolare
  • trappolatore
  • trappolone
  • intrappolare
  • trappoleria
  • trappoliere
  • trampolo
  • rattrappire
  • tarpare
  • French trappe

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3865
  3. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c Zaccaria, Enrico (1901), L'elemento germanico nella lingua italiana: lessico con appendice e prospetto cronologico, Bologna: Treves
  8. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  10. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 450
  12. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  14. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
  15. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  16. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana