collo Italian · revision 38191

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈkɔl.lo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''collo''' ''m'' (plural colli)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|collum|t=neck]], which in early Latin was also masculine, [[m|la|collus]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) The word lives on in all the Romance languages except Romanian: [[fr|cou]], [[oc|col]], [[ca|coll]], [[es|cuello]], [[pt|colo]], [[sc|cóllu]] and [[fur|kuel]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|15, 922)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The Latin noun goes back to [[ine-pro|*kʷolsom]], the same word as [[got|𐌷𐌰𐌻𐍃|tr=hals]] and [[goh|hals]] (modern [[de|Hals]]); Latin /ll/ here continues /ls/.^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)^(DEI|1014) Nocentini and DEI derive it from [[m|ine-pro|*kʷel-|t=to turn]], the neck being the part on which the head turns, and DEI compares the same image in [[grc|τράχηλος|tr=trákhēlos|t=neck]] beside [[m|grc|τροχός|tr=trokhós|t=wheel]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|1014) De Vaan is more cautious: the Gothic word fits only if the labiovelar lost its rounding in Germanic, so he reconstructs only [[m|ine-pro|*kolso-]] for the shared word.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The earliest record is a northern ''colo'' in the Glossary of Monza, of the 10th century, for the part of the body that joins the head to the trunk.^(TLIO)^(LEI|15, 922) DELI's first Tuscan record is in Restoro d'Arezzo in 1282, who names a star ''collo de corbo'' (neck of the raven).^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Before 1321 Dante used the word for the narrow upper part of vessels and objects, and Prati notes that he also used it for a mountain pass and for the neck of a lute.^(DELI 1999)^(Prati 1951|309) Through the image of a load carried on the neck, ''collo'' came to mean a bale or package of goods: in 1385 the Datini archive reports a ship that carried 900 ''coli'' of spices.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)^(Nocentini 2010) Italian passed this sense on: the plural ''colli'' gave French ''colis'' (1723), spread from Marseilles, and German ''Kollo'' (1489).^(DEI|1014)^(DIFIT)

+

+ The sense “collar” spread in the 19th century, especially in the north, after French ''col''.^(DEI|1014) Derivatives include ''collottola'', the nape (before 1304), and ''collotorto'', a hypocrite who bends his neck to show devotion (1542, Pietro Aretino).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 10th century – ''Colo'' appears in the Glossary of Monza.^(TLIO)^(LEI|15, 922)

+ * 1282 – Restoro d'Arezzo uses ''collo''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1304 – ''Collottola'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it for the neck of a vessel.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1385 – The Datini archive uses it for a bale of goods.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+ * 1489 – German ''Kollo'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1542 – Pietro Aretino uses ''collotorto''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1723 – French ''colis'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)^(DEI|1014)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|neck]], the part of the body joining the head to the chest: ''La giraffa ha un collo lunghissimo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' The narrow part of an organ, as in ''collo dell'utero'' and ''collo del femore''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The narrow upper part of a vessel or object: ''il collo della bottiglia''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(botany)'' The narrow part at the base of an organ.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # A mountain pass, a [[m|en|col]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(architecture)'' The lower part of a capital.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The mouth of an estuary; an [[m|en|isthmus]] joining a peninsula to the mainland.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # The [[m|en|collar]] of a garment: ''Si è alzato il collo della giacca per il freddo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The instep, ''collo del piede''; the part of a shoe round it.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(nautical)'' A turn of a rope round something.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A package, bale or piece of luggage sent or carried: ''All'aeroporto hanno perso due colli.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[collana]]

+ * [[colletto]]

+ * [[collottola]]

+ * [[torcicollo]]

+ * [[scavezzacollo]]

+ * [[rompicollo]]

+ * [[tracolla]]

+ * [[tracollo]]

+ * [[accollare]]

+ * [[scollato]]

+ * [[scollatura]]

+ * [[collotorto]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[collare]]

+ * [[la|collum]]

+ * [[de|Hals]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''a rotta di collo'' (at breakneck speed), ''fino al collo'' (up to one's neck, as in debts) and ''tra capo e collo'' (all of a sudden).^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Treccani 2011) The spelling ''collo'' was also the contraction of ''con'' and ''lo'', “with the”, now rare in writing.^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}