verrocchio

Forms

verrocchio m (plural verrocchi)^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is disputed.^[2][3][4][5] Nocentini takes it as formed from Italian verro + -occhio, from verro “boar”.^[6] Like verricello “winch” and verrina “gimlet”, it names a tool with a spiral part that turns as it enters a hole, and all of them are metaphors from the boar's member, told apart by their suffixes.^[6] Prati had already traced these tool names to verres (“boar”).^[7]

The GDLI sees in it a Tuscan form, of Pisa, Siena and Lucca, of varrocchio “winch”, recorded as Medieval Latin verockium.^[8] GRADIT derives that word from a Late Latin barulcus of Greek origin, “a machine for lifting weights”.^[2] DEI also points to both winch words and cites a Medieval Latin form of 1447 from Rome.^[9] GRADIT and Treccani's Vocabolario leave the word uncertain, perhaps connected with the word for the winch.^[2][5]

Wiktionary derives it from Vulgar Latin *verruculum, an alteration of Latin vericulum (“small rod”), which is formed from verū (“spit, dart”).^[1][10] The Latin Wiktionary explains the changed ending by a Late Latin veruclātus (“bolted”) used by Augustine, and the /rr/ by ferrum (“iron”).^[1] Devoto–Oli derives it from a Latin veruina, also from the word for “spit”.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini dates the first record to 1298.^[6] The earliest sense in the GDLI is a large winch used in the Middle Ages to lift heavy loads or as a siege engine.^[8] A lauda on the Crucifixion has one of Christ's hands nailed and l'altra al verocchio tirare (“the other pulled to the winch”).^[8]

Semantic evolution

The GDLI quotes the statute of the wool guild of Siena, which wants two verrocchi at the guild's fulling mills, and the Storie pistoiesi, where besiegers use them to pull down a palace whose walls they had undermined.^[8] A Medieval Latin verochium of 1447, at Rome, is the roller of a trebuchet.^[9] Lucini used a verrocchio for a tightly rolled pigtail.^[8]

In Tuscany, around Pisa, Siena and Lucca, the word came to mean an olive press.^[9][8] Fanfani recorded this sense in 1863, saying it was used in some places for the olive press, and Tommaseo took it from him.^[9][2][12] Today GRADIT marks the word obsolete, and Devoto–Oli, Sabatini–Coletti and Treccani archaic.^{[2][11][3][13]}

Timeline

• 1298 – First record.^[6]
• 1447 – Medieval Latin verochium is recorded at Rome for the roller of a trebuchet.^[9]
• 1840 – Zingarelli and Sabatini–Coletti's date for the modern dictionary word.^[14][3]
• 1863 – Fanfani records the sense “olive press”.^[9][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (historical) A large winch used in the Middle Ages to lift heavy loads and as a siege engine, the same as varrocchio.^{[2][3][14][13][4]}
2. (obsolete, regional) An olive press.^{[2][11][3][14][13][1]}

Related words

• verro
• verricello
• verrina
• varrocchio

Usage notes

The GDLI also records the spelling veròcchio.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
5. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
6. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 1048
8. ^ a b c d e f g Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21
9. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 4030
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
14. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli