usignolo

Forms

usignolo m (plural usignoli)^[1] Literary usignuolo, archaic or poetic lusignolo and lusignuolo.^[2][3][1] Old forms include Old Italian uscignuolo and Old Italian usingniuolo, and an old feminine Old Italian usignola.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *lusciniŏlus, beside Latin lusciniola, a diminutive of luscinia (“nightingale”) or its masculine variant luscinius.^[6][7][8][1] Plautus already uses lusciniola.^[4] The initial /l/ was lost because it was taken for the definite article, so that the earlier lusignolo became the modern form.^[6][7][8][1]

DELI is not convinced by G. Bonelli's explanation of the masculine gender, that speakers would not call the singer par excellence by a feminine name since female birds do not sing.^[6] It asks whether the Latins felt no such reluctance.^[6]

A form with initial /r/, Old Occitan rosinhol, passed into French rossignol, Catalan rossinyol and Spanish ruiseñor, which was reinterpreted as ⟨Ruy señor⟩ “lord Rodrigo”.^[7] Italian also borrowed it, as rosignolo, in the 14th century.^[7][9]

The origin of luscinia is unclear.^[6][10] The OLD suggests a compound *lusci-cinia “singing in the twilight”, from Latin luscus (“one-eyed”) and canō (“to sing”).^[11][1] Nocentini notes that luscinus meant “blind in one eye”, so the name may refer to a bird singing at night with its eyes closed, unless it refers to the cruel custom of blinding birds to make them sing better.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Brunetto Latini, who died in 1294, for the small brown bird with a sweet song.^[6][7][8]

Semantic evolution

The nightingale became a figure of sweet singing in poetry, as in Poliziano's E l'usignuol sotto l'amate fronde / Cantando ripetea l'antico pianto (“And the nightingale beneath the beloved boughs repeated its ancient lament in song”). Torquato Tasso still wrote lusignuolo.^[9] Cantare come un usignolo is said of a sweet, clear voice, and l'usignolo di Ceo is the lyric poet Simonides of Ceos.^[9]

Joking names use it for animals with a harsh voice: usignolo di pantano is the frog and usignolo di maggio the donkey.^[9] With other qualifiers it names other birds, such as usignolo di fiume, Cetti's warbler.^[2][8]

Timeline

• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses usignolo.^[6][7][8]
• 14th century – Rosignolo is borrowed from Occitan.^[7]
• 1903 – G. Bonelli explains the masculine gender by the male bird's song.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (zoology) The common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), a small reddish-brown songbird famous for its melodious song by day and night: Nel bosco si sentiva un usignolo.^[8][2][9][1]
2. (figurative) A person with a sweet singing voice: cantare come un usignolo.^[9][12]
3. A name for various other birds of the flycatcher and warbler families: usignolo di fiume, Cetti's warbler.^[8][2][1]

Word family

• usignoletto

Related words

• rosignolo
• losco
• Latin luscinia
• French rossignol

Usage notes

Italian has usignolo beside rosignolo, which came through Occitan.^[7][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 590
5. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b c d e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli