vulcano

Forms

vulcano m (plural vulcani)^[1]

Etymology

DELI and Nocentini take it as borrowed from Spanish volcán, which reached Italian through translations from Spanish.^[2][3][4] During the conquest of Central America the Spaniards applied to the burning mountains they found there the name of the Aeolian island of Vulcano, and probably of Etna, long known as seats of the god Vulcan, and the name became a common noun.^[2][3] DEI thinks the word spread from Spain and Portugal, and quotes Bottari (1733), who wrote that Portuguese sailors were the first to give the fire-throwing mountains that name.^[5][2] Zingarelli and the GDLI, by contrast, call it a learned word taken straight from Latin, and Wiktionary derives it from the name of the island.^[6][7][1] French volcan was borrowed the same way, in 1588.^[2]

Behind all of them is Latin Vulcānus (“Vulcan”), the Roman god of fire and smith of the gods, whose forge legend placed under Etna.^[3][8][9] Devoto, Zingarelli and the GDLI consider the god's name Etruscan.^[8][6][7] Wiktionary calls its origin unknown, perhaps borrowed through Etruscan from the Cretan god Ancient Greek Ϝέλχανος (Wélkhanos).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is the Italian translation, published in 1555 by Agostino de Crevaliz, of Pedro Cieza de León's Crónica del Perú, where the word means a mountain that throws out fire, lava and gas; other translations from Spanish followed, and through them it reached Florio's dictionary of 1598.^[2][10] Zingarelli and DIFIT date the old form vulgano to before 1519.^[6][11]

Semantic evolution

The word did not win at once: 18th-century scientists also said monte ignivomo, monte fiammifero or simply mongibello and vesuvio, after Etna and Vesuvius.^[2] Prati notes Old Tuscan forms bolcano and bolgano, and a Monte Bolcano near Vicenza.^[12] The figurative sense, an ardent, enthusiastic person, is dated 1879 by DIFIT, and DEI records it in 1897.^[11][5]

The image of standing on a volcano, a calm that hides great danger, is international in the 19th century: DELI traces it to a remark of 1830 at a party of the Duke of Orléans, nous dansons sur un volcan (“we are dancing on a volcano”).^[2] Derivatives followed: vulcanico in Targioni Tozzetti (1754), vulcanismo (1885), vulcanologia (1868) and vulcanologo (1923).^[2][3]

English took volcano from Italian in the 1610s, after earlier volcan and vulcane from French;^[13][11] DIFIT dates it 1613.^[13][11] German Vulkan is recorded from 1599.^[11]

Timeline

• 1555 – The word appears in the Italian translation of Cieza de León's chronicle of Peru.^[2][10]
• 1588 – French volcan is first recorded.^[2]
• 1598 – Florio's dictionary records vulcano.^[2]
• 1599 – German Vulkan is first recorded.^[11]
• 1613 – English volcano is first recorded.^[11][13]
• 1733 – Bottari writes that Portuguese sailors first called fire-throwing mountains Vulcani.^[2][5]
• 1754 – Vulcanico appears in Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti.^[2]
• 1830 – The phrase “we are dancing on a volcano” is spoken in Paris.^[2]
• 1879 – The figurative sense “ardent, enthusiastic person” is recorded.^[11]
• 1885 – Vulcanismo is recorded.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (geology) A volcano: an opening in the Earth's crust through which magma rises and comes out as lava, ash and gas: un vulcano attivo, un vulcano spento.^{[10][14][4][6]}
2. The cone-shaped mountain built up around the crater from the erupted material: Siamo saliti fino all'orlo del vulcano.^[10][14][4]
3. (figurative) A tense situation that may break out at any moment: dormire su un vulcano (to be in danger while all seems calm).^[10][14][6]
4. (figurative) A lively person, full of ideas and energy: avere la testa come un vulcano (to be brimming with ideas).^[10][14][6]
5. (astronomy) vulcano lunare: a lunar crater.^[14][6]

Word family

• vulcanico
• vulcanismo
• vulcanite
• vulcanologia
• vulcanologo
• vulcanesco

Related words

• Vulcano
• vulcanizzare
• Latin Vulcanus
• Spanish volcán
• French volcan
• English volcano

Usage notes

Vulcano with a capital is the Roman god of fire and the island of the Aeolian group.^[9][15] DEI also records a vulcano of 1932 in chemistry, a compound of gutta-percha, sulphur and metal powder for waterproofing cloth.^[5] Vulcanizzare is not formed on vulcano in Italian: it comes from English vulcanize, a verb proposed in 1843.^[2][12]

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 n o p 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 e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 4093
6. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ 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, 1026
8. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d e f g h Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
12. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 1064
13. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
14. ^ 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
15. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)