cielo Italian · revision 37931

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 12th century, Ritmo cassinese|origins=la caelum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈt͡ʃɛ.lo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cielo''' ''m'' (plural cieli)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|celu]], [[roa-oit|celo]] and, in the north, [[roa-oit|cel]] and [[roa-oit|ciel]].^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|caelum|t=sky, heaven]], whose stressed /ae/ became an open /ɛ/ and then, in an open syllable, the Tuscan diphthong /jɛ/.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) The same word is found in every Romance language: [[fr|ciel]], [[oc|cel]], [[ca|cel]], [[es|cielo]], [[pt|céu]], [[sc|chelu]], [[dlm|sil]] and [[ro|cer]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|9, 613)^(REW 1935) The plural used by Christian writers follows [[la-ecc|caelī]], a calque of [[grc|οὐρανοί|tr=ouranoí]], which in turn follows a Hebrew plural.^(DEI|932)

+

+ The Latin word is of uncertain origin.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) Nocentini and Devoto derive it from [[la|caedō|t=to cut]], as a space marked out for watching the flight of birds and the movement of the stars.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968) DEI thinks the link with [[osc|kaíla]] is better explained as a relic of a Mediterranean substrate.^(DEI|932) De Vaan, following Schrijver, connects it with Welsh [[m|cy|coel|t=omen]] and with [[ine-pro|*keh₂i-lo-|t=whole]], the source of Old Church Slavonic [[m|cu|цѣлъ|tr=cělŭ|t=whole]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The oldest record DELI gives is ''celu'' for the seat of God and the saints in the ''Ritmo cassinese'' at the end of the 12th century.^(DELI 1999) The TLIO's first record is in the Venetian ''Proverbia que dicuntur''.^(TLIO) Saint Francis's ''Canticle'' (1224) praises God for the moon and stars: “in celu l'ài formate clarite et preziose et belle” (in the sky you formed them, bright, precious and fair).^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI) The modern form ''cielo'' is in Guittone d'Arezzo (before 1294).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Iacopone da Todi (before 1306) uses the word for each of the heavenly spheres of the Ptolemaic system, Dante for the sky over a given region, and Boccaccio (about 1336) for the ceiling of a room.^(DELI 1999) The LEI lists further senses in Italian and the dialects: the canopy of a bed, the roof of a carriage, the vault of an oven and the palate.^(LEI|9, 613)^(REW 1935) ''Albero del cielo'' “tree of heaven”, the ailanthus, translates a Malay name.^(DEI|932)

+

+ Many phrases use the word: ''toccare il cielo con un dito'' “to be overjoyed”, ''apriti cielo!'' of a violent reaction, ''essere al settimo cielo'' “to be in seventh heaven” and ''a cielo aperto'' “in the open”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(GRADIT 2003) The weather proverb ''cielo a pecorelle, acqua a catinelle'' says that a mackerel sky brings rain.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – ''Celu'' “heaven” appears in the ''Ritmo cassinese''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1224 – Saint Francis uses ''celu'' for the sky.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses the form ''cielo''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses it for a heavenly sphere.^(DELI 1999)

+ * About 1336 – Boccaccio uses it for the ceiling of a room.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|sky]], the vault above the earth in which the stars seem to move: ''Stanotte il cielo è pieno di stelle.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The sky as to the weather: ''cielo sereno'', ''cielo coperto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The sky or [[m|en|airspace]] over a place: ''il cielo di Napoli''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # [[m|en|heaven]], the dwelling of God and the blessed: ''il regno dei cieli''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # God, Providence, and as an exclamation of surprise or fear: ''Santo cielo, che cosa è successo?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(astronomy, historical)'' In the Ptolemaic system, each of the heavenly spheres.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+ # The top or inner roof of something: the ceiling of a room, the roof of a car or tunnel.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[grattacielo]]

+ * [[sopraccielo]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[celeste]]

+ * [[celestiale]]

+ * [[la|caelum]]

+ * [[fr|ciel]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Né in cielo né in terra'' says that something is absurd or impossible, and ''muovere cielo e terra'' means “to move heaven and earth”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}