Etymologically
Log in

vino

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 21:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

Forms

vino m (plural vini)[1] Old Italian had a plural vina, in Jacopone da Todi.[2][3] The TLIO records vin, vinu and binu among the old forms.[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin vīnum (“wine”).[5][6][7][1][3] The Latin noun was neuter, and became masculine in the spoken language;[5][8] Petronius already has a masculine vinus.[5][8] The old Italian plural in ⟨-a⟩ and the Romanian gender continue the neuter, according to DÉRom.[3]

The word is panromance: French vin, Occitan vi, Catalan vi, Spanish vino, Portuguese vinho, Sardinian binu, Dalmatian ven and Romanian vin.[6][9][3] Latin passed it on to Germanic, as Old High German wīn (whence German Wein) and Old English wīn (whence wine), to Celtic, as Irish fíon and Welsh gwin, and to Slavic, as Old Church Slavonic вино (vino) (whence Russian вино (vinó)).[6][2]

The origin of the Latin word is disputed: DELI, DEI and the OLD see it, with Ancient Greek οἶνος (oînos) and Old Armenian գինի (gini), as a word of a Mediterranean substrate.[5][2][8] Nocentini thinks Latin took it from Greek ⟨woinos⟩ through Etruscan vinum, and calls it a travelling word spread with the trade in wine from the region between the Black Sea and the Caucasus.[6] De Vaan derives the Latin, Greek, Armenian and Hittite wiyana- forms from an Indo-European noun meaning “vine”, from a root “to twist, weave”, and reconstructs Proto-Italic *wīnom.[10][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in a Pisan ship's account of the early 12th century, for the drink made by fermenting grape must.[5][6][4][7]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century Marco Polo's Milione and the Italian Palladius use the word for drinks made from other fruit, such as rice wine;[5][2][4] Old Italian essere in vino meant “to be drunk”.[5][2][4] In the Decameron a character asks for questo fiasco del vostro buon vin vermiglio (“this flask of your good red wine”) to be filled.[11]

Derivatives include vinaccia (about 1350), vinaio (1551), vinoso and vinsanto (1773), whose name has been explained by hermit monks or by pressing the grapes at Christmas, explanations that DELI finds made up to fit.[5] Vin brulé (1877) is the French name for mulled wine.[2] English vino “cheap wine” is slang recorded from 1919.[12][13]

Timeline

  • Early 12th century – A Pisan ship's account has vino.[5]
  • 14th century – The word is used for drinks from other fruit.[5]
  • c. 1350 – Vinaccia is recorded.[5]
  • 1551 – Vinaio “wine seller” is recorded.[5]
  • 1773 – Vinsanto is recorded.[5]
  • 1919 – English vino is recorded.[12]

Meanings

Noun

  1. wine, the alcoholic drink made by fermenting grape must: Preferisci il vino bianco o il rosso?[7][14][15]
  2. A fermented drink made from other fruit or plants: vino di palma.[7][15][5]

Adjective

  1. (invariable) Of a deep red tending to violet, wine-coloured: un cappotto rosso vino.[7][15]

Word family

  • vinaccia
  • vinaio
  • vinello
  • vinicolo
  • vinificare
  • vinificazione
  • vinoso
  • vinsanto
  • vineria
  • avvinazzato
  • svinare

Usage notes

The proverb dire pane al pane e vino al vino means to speak plainly.[16][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 4059
  3. ^ a b c d Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
  4. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  11. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  12. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  13. ^ Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  14. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  15. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  16. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana