zolfo

Forms

zolfo m (usually uncountable, plural zolfi)^[1] The older and literary form is solfo, and Old Italian also had sulfo.^[2][3][4] Dialect forms include Tarantino zurfo and Bolognese söulfen.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin sulphur (“sulphur”), a Hellenised spelling of older sulpur.^[6][7][8][1] The same word is French soufre, Occitan solfre, Catalan sofre, Spanish azufre, Portuguese enxofre and Sardinian sùlfuru.^[7][5] A form with ⟨-p-⟩ survives in the Alps: Romansh zuorpel (Engadine) and Friulian solpar.^[5]

The initial ⟨z-⟩ is a strengthened outcome of Latin ⟨s-⟩, as in zampogna, zufolare and zoccolo.^[7][1] Nocentini says its cause is not yet fully explained, and Devoto ascribes it to a central and southern tradition.^[7][9] The form solfo is the older one: Nocentini dates it to 1282 and the form with ⟨z-⟩ to before 1292.^[7]

The origin of the Latin word is uncertain.^[1][7] Nocentini sees it as a loan from southern Italy, where volcanic sulphur vents occur, from an unknown source.^[7] Szemerényi derived sulpur through an intermediate stage, from Proto-Indo-European *selpos (“oily substance”), cognate with Sanskrit सर्पिस् (sarpís, “melted butter”) and Old High German salba (“ointment”); de Vaan finds the vowel change irregular and suggests a preform *solp-r instead.^[10][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini's first record is the old form solfo in 1282.^[7] DELI's first record of zolfo is in Zucchero Bencivenni in 1310, naming the yellow element, and Dante uses solfo before 1321.^[6]

Semantic evolution

From the beginning the word was linked with volcanoes: Dante says Sicily smokes “because of sulphur being born” (per nascente solfo, Paradiso 8.70), and the Ottimo commento explains the smoke of Etna by the sulphur in the mountain.^[3] It was also an old incendiary material.^[3] Preachers made a lake of burning sulphur the floor of Hell, and Tommaseo cites Segneri for it.^[11] From that picture comes the phrase sentire odore di zolfo, “to smell sulphur”, meaning to sense something diabolical.^[8][2][12]

In farming zolfo is also used popularly for copper sulphate sprayed on vines (dare lo zolfo alle viti).^[2][13][12] The derivative zolfanello, first a sulphur-tipped splinter and then a match, is recorded before 1484 (Pulci); accendersi come uno zolfanello means to flare up in anger.^[6]

Timeline

• 1282 – The old form solfo is recorded.^[7]
• Before 1292 – zolfo is recorded.^[7]
• 1310 – Zucchero Bencivenni uses zolfo for the element.^[6]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses solfo of the sulphur of Etna.^[6][3]
• Before 1484 – zolfanello is recorded in Luigi Pulci.^[6]
• 16th century – solfatara is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. sulphur: the yellow non-metallic chemical element (symbol S, atomic number 16), found native and in sulphides and sulphates, used for sulphuric acid, the vulcanisation of rubber, matches and fungicides: l'odore acre dello zolfo bruciato.^{[8][2][14][12]}
2. (agriculture, popular) Copper sulphate used to spray vines and other plants against parasites.^[8][2][13]

Word family

• zolfanello
• solfanello
• zolfara
• solfara
• solfatara
• zolfatara
• inzolfare
• zolfino
• solfato
• solfito
• solfuro
• solforare

Related words

• solfo
• sulfureo
• Latin sulphur
• French soufre

Usage notes

Sentire odore (o puzza) di zolfo means to sense the devil's hand or something sinister, from the traditional picture of Hell.^[8][2][12] Battaglia also records an old adjective zolfo “sulphurous”, used of the water of an infernal lake.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 1089
4. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ a b c d e f 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 j k Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 478
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 c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
13. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
14. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse