vassoio

Forms

vassoio m (plural vassoi)^[1]

Etymology

The origin of the word is disputed.^[2][3][4] In the view of G. B. Pellegrini, which Nocentini, Devoto–Oli and Zingarelli follow, it is inherited from Vulgar Latin *versōrium (“winnowing tray”), formed on versus, the past participle of verrō (“to sweep, clean”).^[5][6][7][2] Its first sense was a winnowing tray: a rectangular wooden board, hollowed in the middle with raised edges, shaken to throw off the chaff.^[5] Nocentini finds the change of pretonic ⟨e⟩ to ⟨a⟩ before ⟨r⟩ and the assimilation of ⟨rs⟩ to ⟨ss⟩ easy to explain.^[5] Meyer-Lübke had already put the sense “sieve” under *versōrium, but from vertō (“to turn”), the source of versoio;^[2][5] Pellegrini showed that the verb is “to sweep”, though Nocentini does not quite rule out “to turn”.^[2][5] The same Latin verb gave Spanish barrer (“to sweep”) and basura (“rubbish”).^[5]

The older explanation, due to Salvioni in 1902 and still given by GRADIT, the Treccani dictionary and Sabatini–Coletti, derives it from Medieval Latin missōrium (“dish for carrying food”), from mittō (“to send, put”), reshaped after Latin vās (“vessel”), the source of vaso.^{[2][8][9][4][10]} Devoto reconstructed a Vulgar Latin crossing of the two, *vassorium.^[11] vās has no known origin beyond Proto-Italic *wāss-.^[12][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in a Florentine register of the Servite convent of Santissima Annunziata of 1287, where it means a square board without edges on which labourers carried mortar to the masons.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The accounts of the table of the Florentine Priors of 1344 list vassoi, which DELI takes to be large wooden platters for serving food.^[3][2] A 14th-century translation of Gregory the Great still uses it of a sieve: “uno vaso, che si chiamava vassojo”, borrowed from the neighbours to clean grain.^[2] Franco Sacchetti, before 1400, has the sense of a large serving dish.^[2]

Vasari glosses capisterio, the winnowing tray, with vassoio, and in parts of Tuscany the tray for cleaning grain, pulses and chestnuts is still a vassoio or vassoia.^[3][9] The modern sense is the flat tray with raised edges for serving food and drink or for holding letters; in church it carries the cruets.^[9] Plasterers call their hawk a vassoio, and vassoiata, a trayful, is recorded from 1879.^[8][5]

Timeline

• 1287 – A Florentine convent register uses vassoio for a mortar board.^[2][5]
• 1344 – The accounts of the Priors' table in Florence list vassoi.^[3][7]
• 14th century – A translation of Gregory the Great uses vassoio for a sieve.^[2]
• Before 1400 – Franco Sacchetti uses vassoio for a serving dish.^[2]
• 1879 – Vassoiata is recorded.^[5]
• 1902 – Salvioni proposes the derivation from missōrium.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A tray or platter with raised edges, for serving food and drink or carrying other things.^[8][6][4]
2. A trayful: un vassoio di tartine.^[8][6][9]
3. (building) A plasterer's hawk, also called sparviero.^[8][6][4]
4. (Tuscany) A rectangular wooden tray with raised sides for cleaning pulses, chestnuts and grain by shaking.^[8][9][13]

Word family

• vassoiata
• vassoia

Related words

• versoio
• vaso
• Latin verrō
• Latin vās

Usage notes

The phrase su un vassoio d'argento, on a silver tray, is listed by GRADIT.^[8] Wiktionary gives both a closed and an open stressed vowel.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d 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 Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
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 Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
12. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli