tuorlo

Forms

tuorlo m (plural tuorli)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian torlo, Old Italian turlo and the plural Old Italian tuorla.^[2][3] The form torlo survives as a less common Tuscan variant.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin torulus (“small bulge, little cushion”), the diminutive of torus (“swelling; cushion”), named for the yolk's rounded shape.^[6][7][8][1] Meyer-Lübke also cites Piedmontese torlu (“bump”), Logudorese turulu and Sassarese toralu (“yolk”).^[9] DELI, after M. L. Wagner, holds that the Sardinian forms are not a direct continuation of the Latin word but came from the mainland.^[6]

The origin of the Latin base is uncertain.^[10][1] De Vaan considers a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- (“to cross, go through”), and an older view connects it with Latin sternō (“to spread”).^[10][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Florentine Fiori di filosafi of 1271–1275, and DELI dates the word to before 1294 in B. Latini, in the sense of the yolk of an egg.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used the image figuratively: the phrase stare come il tuorlo nell'uovo (“to sit like the yolk in the egg”), and the extended sense “central part of something”, applied to the earth seen as the centre of the world.^[2] DEI dates the figurative “centre, middle part” to the 13th century, in R. Malispini.^[3] Prati records that Oudin gave the variant torlo the senses “spinning top”, “spindle weight” and “pirouette”.^[11]

In modern Italian the word has a technical sense in biology, the nutritive reserve of an egg, also called deutoplasma or vitello, beside the everyday “yolk”, commonly called rosso d'uovo.^[8][4][12]

Timeline

• 1271–1275 – The Florentine Fiori di filosafi has the first record.^[2]
• Before 1294 – B. Latini uses tuorlo.^[6]
• 13th century – The figurative “centre” is recorded in R. Malispini.^[3]
• 14th century – Sacchetti has the old plural le tuorla.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (biology) The nutritive yolk of an egg, the reserve of fats, proteins and other substances that feeds the embryo, also called deutoplasma or vitello.^[8][4][12]
2. The yolk of a hen's egg, the yellow central part surrounded by the albume: Per la crema servono quattro tuorli.^[8][4][5]

Related words

• torlo
• Latin torulus
• Latin torus

Usage notes

In everyday speech the yolk is also called rosso d'uovo.^[4][13] The biological sacco del tuorlo is the yolk sac.^[8][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3929
4. ^ a b c d e 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 Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 1022
12. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana