treggia

Forms

treggia f (plural tregge)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin trahea (“a drag, a threshing sledge”), which Virgil uses, beside traha in Columella; both come from trahō (“to pull, drag”).^{[2][3][4][5][6][1]} Wiktionary starts from traha instead.^[1] The ending was reshaped after veggia, a cart, which goes back to an Oscan word and is related to vehō (“to carry”).^[2][7][8][9] Zingarelli and GDLI give this crossing only as a possibility.^[10][11]

Meyer-Lübke lists the Latin word with the senses “threshing board” and “drag”: it survives in the Marche, and with the influence of veggia gave Romagnol treza in Romagna and similar forms in Bologna, Reggio and Abruzzo, all for a sledge carrying hay, earth or stones over snow, ice or mud.^[12][13] Medieval Latin documents of Romagna have Medieval Latin treza (1324) and tregia (Forlì, 1364).^[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Italian translation of Marco Polo, before 1324, describing tregge sanza ruote, drags without wheels, used where wheels would sink in the mud.^{[3][10][11][5]}

Semantic evolution

The word kept its sense of a wheelless vehicle dragged by oxen or other animals.^[11][5] Tommaseo describes it as a rustic cart woven of withies for straw and firewood, with grander kinds that carried people up steep, mountainous roads where ordinary carriages could not go.^[5] Oudin also gave it the senses “harrow” and “threshing roller”.^[14] In the 17th century Lippi used it jokingly for a carriage.^[13]

Derivatives appeared from the 17th century: treggiatore, the driver (1618, Buonarroti), treggiuolo (1625, Magazzini), treggione (1680, Baldinucci), treggiata, a treggia's load (18th century, Salvini), and treggiaia, the track a treggia leaves.^[13][7] Today it is a regional word of northern and central Italy, used mainly of the sledges that bring timber and hay down Alpine slopes.^[3][8][9]

Timeline

• Before 1324 – The Italian translation of Marco Polo has tregge sanza ruote.^[3][11]
• 1324 – Medieval Latin treza is recorded in Romagna.^[13]
• 1364 – Medieval Latin tregia is recorded at Forlì.^[13]
• 1618 – Treggiatore appears in Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger.^[13]
• 1680 – Treggione appears in Baldinucci.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A rough wooden sledge on two runners, used in the Alps to bring loads of timber or hay down to the valley.^{[10][15][9][3]}
2. (regional) A rustic cart without wheels, drawn by oxen or other animals, for carrying fodder or people over rough, steep ground.^{[10][15][8][9]}

Word family

• treggiata
• treggiatore
• treggione
• treggiaia

Related words

• trarre
• veggia
• Latin trahea

Usage notes

The plural is tregge.^[8][10] The GDLI's second treggia is only a variant of trebbia.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
5. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ 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
9. ^ 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)
10. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
12. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
13. ^ a b c d e f g h Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3880
14. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 1014
15. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse