cervello Italian · revision 38152

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1252–1258, Storie de Troia e de Roma (Rome)|origins=ine-pro *ḱerh₂-s-ro-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /t͡ʃerˈvɛl.lo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cervello''' ''m'' (plural cervelli m or (in certain fixed expressions) cervella f)^(Wiktionary)

+ Besides the masculine plural ''cervelli'', the feminine plural ''cervella'' is used for the substance of the brain, especially of slaughtered animals and in set phrases.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GDLI)^(Wiktionary) Old Italian forms include [[m|roa-oit|cerbello]], [[m|roa-oit|cerebello]], [[m|roa-oit|cerviello]] and the northern [[m|roa-oit|cervelo]] and [[m|roa-oit|cinivella]].^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|cerebellum]], a diminutive of [[m|la|cerebrum|t=brain]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The diminutive was a cooking term, and in popular Latin, as in Petronius, it took the place of the base word.^(DEI|874)^(Nocentini 2010) The feminine plural continues the Latin neuter plural [[m|la|cerebella]], which became a feminine; the same happened in [[fr|cervelle]].^(DEI|874)^(LEI|13, 1053)^(Wiktionary) The vowel before the stress was lost, as is regular, and the Latin /b/ became /v/.^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ The same word is [[fr|cerveau]], [[oc|cervel]], [[ca|cervell]], [[fur|cervièl]], Logudorese [[m|sc|karveddu]] and Vegliote [[m|dlm|karviale]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(LEI|13, 1053) Italian also has the learned forms [[cerebro]] and [[cerebello]], taken from Latin later.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Latin “cerebrum” goes back to Proto-Italic [[m|itc-pro|*kerasro-]] and Proto-Indo-European [[m|ine-pro|*ḱerh₂-s-ro-]], “the thing in the head”, built on the word for “head” found in [[sa|शिरस्|tr=śíras|t=head]] and [[grc|κάρα|tr=kára|t=head]]; [[m|grc|κέρας|tr=kéras|t=horn]] and [[goh|hirni|t=brain]] belong to the same family.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the ''Storie de Troia e de Roma'', a Roman text of 1252–1258, where the word means the contents of the skull.^(TLIO) DELI's first date for the brain is Bono Giamboni, before 1292, and Nocentini dates the word to 1288.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Already in Old Italian the brain stood for the mind and its faculties, and was also eaten: the TLIO records it as food and as a name for the skull itself.^(TLIO) Dante uses ''cervello'' for “judgement, wits” before 1321, and Savonarola, before 1498, for the person who directs an organization.^(DELI 1999) Many phrases describe the wits: ''uscire di cervello'' “to go mad”, ''lambiccarsi il cervello'' “to rack one's brains”, ''cervello di gallina'' “bird brain”, recorded from 1956; the LEI has ''cervello di gatta'' for a foolish person in Machiavelli.^(LEI|13, 1053)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ In the 20th century ''cervello elettronico'' was coined as a calque of English ''electronic brain'' (1945) for the computer.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) ''Fuga dei cervelli'', the brain drain, uses the word for gifted scientists and scholars.^(LEI|13, 1053)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1233 – ''Ceraveliera'', a steel skullcap worn under the helmet, is recorded in the Matasalà diary.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1252–1258 – The ''Storie de Troia e de Roma'' use the word.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''cervello'' for the brain.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it for judgement and good sense.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1498 – Savonarola uses it for the mind behind an organization.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1574 – ''Cervelletto'' “cerebellum” is recorded in Giovanni Andrea Della Croce.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1729 – ''Cervellotico'' “odd, illogical” is in Anton Maria Salvini.^(DELI 1999)

+ * After 1945 – ''Cervello elettronico'' is formed on English ''electronic brain''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(anatomy)'' The [[m|en|brain]], the organ in the skull; strictly, the [[m|en|cerebrum]], the two hemispheres.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The brains of a slaughtered animal as food, often in the plural ''cervella'': ''cervella fritte''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Intelligence, [[m|en|judgement]], good sense: ''Usa un po' il cervello prima di parlare.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A way of thinking; a person seen as a mind: ''È un cervello bizzarro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(figurative)'' The [[m|en|mastermind]] or leading mind of a group or organization; a highly gifted person: ''il cervello dell'operazione''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''Cervello elettronico'', an electronic computer.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cervelletto]]

+ * [[cervellotico]]

+ * [[scervellarsi]]

+ * [[scervellato]]

+ * [[cervellone]]

+ * [[cervellino]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cerebrale]]

+ * [[cerebro]]

+ * [[cerebellare]]

+ * [[cerebello]]

+ * [[cervelliera]]

+ * [[fr|cerveau]]

+ * [[la|cerebrum]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The plural ''cervella'' is used for the brain matter, of people and animals (''farsi saltare le cervella'', to blow one's brains out), and ''cervelli'' in the figurative senses.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}