trivello

Forms

trivello m (plural trivelli)^[1] Old forms are trevilo and trivelo.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin terebellum (“small borer”), a Late Latin word of the glossaries, the diminutive of terebra (“borer, gimlet”).^{[3][4][5][6][1]} DELI treats it under the feminine trivella, from the same Latin word.^[7][5] GRADIT marks the Latin form as reconstructed.^[3] Latin also had terebrum, a variant of the usual form, and Wiktionary forms the diminutive from it.^[1][2] The Latin noun comes from terō (“to rub, grind”).^[8][9][10]

Körting places beside it Old Occitan, Spanish and Portuguese words for a borer or a moth.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a Bolognese document of 1287–1330, dated 1290, with the sense “tool for boring holes, especially in wood”, the same as trivella.^[12]

Semantic evolution

Leonardo uses the word.^[2] Biringuccio described the trivello alla francese used by turners, shaped like a gouge; it was used especially for grafting, since it leaves no sawdust.^[2][13] DELI dates the word from Biringuccio, before 1537.^[7][3]

Muratori noted that the Florentines called it succhio or succhiello, and Carena described it as a large gimlet turned with both hands.^[2] The diminutive trivellino is recorded from the 16th century.^[14][9]

Timeline

• 1290 – First record, in a Bolognese document.^[12]
• Before 1380 – Zingarelli's date for the word.^[9]
• Before 1537 – Biringuccio uses trivello.^[7][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (technology) A gimlet or auger, a hand tool for boring holes in wood; the same as trivella: Fece un foro nella trave con il trivello.^{[3][4][8][15][1]}

Word family

• trivellino

Related words

• trivella
• trivellare
• succhiello
• Latin terebra

Usage notes

Zingarelli records the rare phrase a trivello, “twisted”.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
7. ^ a b c Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
11. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
12. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
13. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 1018
15. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana