gamba Italian · revision 37996

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=10th century, Glossary of Monza|origins=grc κάμπτω}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɡam.ba/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''gamba''' ''f'' (plural gambe, diminutive gambétta or gambìna or gambìno m, augmentative gambóna or gambóne m, pejorative gambàccia, endearing-derogatory gambùccia)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|gamba|t=hock, leg of a horse]], a word of the 4th-century veterinary writers Chiron, Pelagonius and Vegetius, where manuscripts often spell it ⟨camba⟩.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI) It was borrowed from [[grc|καμπή|tr=kampḗ|t=bend, joint]], from [[m|grc|κάμπτω|tr=kámptō|t=to bend]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary) The voicing of the first consonant is frequent in words taken from Greek.^(LEI|9, 1580)^(DÉRom) DÉRom reconstructs a Proto-Romance [[m|la-vul|*camba]] with a secondary variant [[m|la-vul|*gamba]].^(DÉRom)

+

+ From the language of horse breeders the word spread to the human leg and drove out the classical [[la|crūs]], which has no Romance descendants.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) DELI notes that the reasons for this complete victory are unclear, and that elsewhere [[la|perna]] (Iberia, Gascony) and [[la|ancus]] (southern Italy, Sardinia) took the place of the old word.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI) Romance cognates are [[fr|jambe]], [[oc|camba]], [[ca|camba]] and [[sc|camba]];^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) the forms with /k/ in Occitan and Ibero-Romance keep the variant closer to Greek.^(Nocentini 2010) A proposed Gaulish source has no proof behind it.^(GDLI|6, 567)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The word first appears in a glossary from Monza of the 10th century, for the part of the leg from the knee to the foot.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)^(GRADIT 2003) Restoro d'Arezzo applies it to the limbs of animals in 1282.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Already in Old Italian the word could mean the whole lower limb, and many phrases formed around it, such as ''fino a mezza gamba'' “to the knee” and ''con le gambe incrociate'' “cross-legged”.^(TLIO) Dante writes of walking “con le gambe avvolte” (with tangled legs), like one overcome by wine or sleep.^(GDLI|6, 567) From about 1340 ''gamba'' named the leg or support of an object, from before 1590 the vertical stroke of a letter or note, and, from 1887 the leg of trousers or stockings.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ''Viola da gamba'', the bass viol held between the knees, is recorded in the 17th century and passed into English as ''viol da gamba'' (1597) and into French as ''viole de gambe''.^(DEI) The phrase ''in gamba'' “fit, capable” dates from the 16th century and was borrowed as French ''ingambe''.^(DEI) The derivatives include ''gambo'' “stalk” (before 1320), ''gambale'' “legging” (1526), ''gambetto'' “trip”, which also named a chess opening, and ''gambizzare'' “to kneecap” (1978).^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 10th century – The word appears in the Glossary of Monza.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)

+ * 1282 – Restoro d'Arezzo uses it for an animal's leg.^(DELI 1999)

+ * c. 1340 – A translation of Palladius uses it for a support.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 16th century – ''In gamba'' “fit, able” is recorded.^(DEI)

+ * Before 1590 – Zarlino uses it for a vertical stroke.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1597 – English ''viol da gamba'' is recorded.^(DEI)

+ * 1978 – ''Gambizzare'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|leg]], each of the two lower limbs of the human body: ''Dopo la corsa mi fanno male le gambe.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle, the [[m|en|shank]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The leg of an animal.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The leg of a pair of trousers or of a stocking.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+ # A leg or support of a piece of furniture or another object: ''Una gamba del tavolo è rotta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The vertical [[m|en|stroke]] of a letter or of a musical note.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Each arm of a pair of compasses.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gambo]]

+ * [[gambale]]

+ * [[gambaletto]]

+ * [[gambetto]]

+ * [[sgambetto]]

+ * [[gambiera]]

+ * [[gambizzare]]

+ * [[sgambettare]]

+ * [[sgambato]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gambata]]

+ * [[gambetta]]

+ * [[coscia]]

+ * [[viola da gamba]]

+ * [[fr|jambe]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Essere in gamba'' means to be fit, or to be capable and enterprising.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) Other set phrases are ''darsela a gambe'' “to run away”, ''prendere sotto gamba'' “to underestimate”, ''a gambe levate'' “at full speed” and ''fare il passo più lungo della gamba'' “to overreach oneself”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011) A ''gamba'' that was a kind of monkey, from a Brazilian word, is recorded in an old travel book.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}