zio Italian · revision 38054

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1235|origins=grc θεῖος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈd͡zi.o/, /ˈt͡si.o/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''zio''' ''m'' (plural zii, feminine zia, augmentative (uncommon) zióne, diminutive-endearing ziétto or (less common) ziìno or ziùccio)^(Wiktionary)

+ Central and southern Italian shorten it to ''zi’'' before a name, as in ''zi' prete''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GDLI) Old forms ''zieso'' and ''ziso'' mean “his uncle”, and an old ''ziano'' was formed on the model of ''barbano''.^(Prati 1951|1074)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|thīus|t=uncle]], [[der|grc|θεῖος|tr=theîos|t=uncle]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Isidore of Seville, in the 6th–7th century, wrote of the Latin word “Tius Graecum est”, “tius is Greek”; the feminine [[m|la-lat|thīa]] is also late, found in glosses.^(DELI 1999) The Greek words [[m|grc|θεῖος|tr=theîos]] and [[m|grc|θεία|tr=theía|t=aunt]] are fairly recent kinship terms of the language of young children, akin to [[grc|τήθη|tr=tḗthē|t=grandmother]] and [[m|grc|τηθίς|tr=tēthís|t=aunt]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010) Devoto notes that the Greek word was taken with its initial consonant already pronounced as an affricate.^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ The same word is [[es|tío]], [[pt|tio]], [[ca|tio]], [[sc|tiu]] and [[pro|sia]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907) Latin distinguished the father's brother and sister ([[m|la|patruus]], [[m|la|amita]]) from the mother's ([[m|la|avunculus]], [[m|la|matertera]]); French kept one word of each pair, [[fr|oncle]] and [[fr|tante]], while the southern Romance languages took the Greek words, a choice paralleled by [[en|uncle]] and [[de|Onkel]], later loans from French.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ DELI, following Aebischer, describes the two Latin words as the usual words of spoken Latin in southern Italy, from which they spread through Rome and Tuscany to northern Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, displacing the old Latin names and newer Germanic loans.^(DELI 1999) Meyer-Lübke too saw the word as southern at first, gradually ousting the Latin word for the aunt and [[barba]] “uncle” in the north; southern forms in ⟨-anu⟩ are a trace of the struggle with it.^(REW 1935) Bertoldi explained the success of the word by its expressive force: the Greek word first meant “divine, magnificent” and came to convey authority or respect.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Nocentini dates ''zio'' to 1235 and ''zia'' to 1295;^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) DELI's first record is the ''Novellino'' of the late 13th century, in the sense “the brother of one's father or mother”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) DEI dates it to the 12th century.^(DEI|4116)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The ''Storie de Troia e de Roma'' have “Abbe in grande odio Amulio suo zio” (he greatly hated his uncle Amulius), and the account books of the Peruzzi company use the word in the 14th century.^(GDLI) The feminine ''zia'' is recorded in Giovanni Villani before 1348, and ''zio'' for the husband of an aunt only in 1961.^(DELI 1999) ''Prozio'', the great-uncle, is recorded in 1640.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ In the south the shortened ''zi’'' became a title of respect for old men and priests, as for ''zio Crocifisso'' in Verga's ''Malavoglia''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) ''Zio Sam'', the United States, translates [[en|Uncle Sam]], and ''lo zio d'America'' is the rich relative who emigrated and, from whom one hopes for an inheritance.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) A Tuscan proverb says “Colui è mio zio, che vuole il ben mio”, he is my uncle who wishes me well.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 6th–7th century – Isidore of Seville records Latin ''thius'' as a Greek word.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1235 – First record of ''zio'', according to Nocentini.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Late 13th century – The ''Novellino'' uses ''zio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1295 – ''Zia'' is recorded, according to Nocentini.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1640 – ''Prozio'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1961 – ''Zio'' is recorded for the husband of an aunt.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|uncle]], the brother of one's father or mother; also the husband of one's aunt: ''Lo zio Paolo vive a Torino.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(plural)'' ''zii'': uncle and aunt: ''D'estate andavamo dagli zii in campagna.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(southern regional)'' A title of respect for old men and for priests, often shortened to ''zi’'': ''zi' prete''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(euphemism)'' God, in oaths: ''per zio!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(slang)'' Mate, [[m|en|dude]], as a form of address between friends.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[zia]]

+ * [[prozio]]

+ * [[prozia]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[grc|θεῖος|tr=theîos]]

+ * [[es|tío]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Jocular regional phrases are Tuscan ''zi' Beppe'' for the backside and southern ''zi' Peppe'' for the chamber pot.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) The GDLI records an unrelated old ''zio'', a variant of the pronoun ''ciò'' “that”, in Dondi and Diomede Carafa.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}