anello Italian · revision 38199

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1178–1182, Savona document|origins=la ānus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /aˈnɛl.lo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''anello''' ''m'' (plural anelli)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|ānellus|t=little ring]], a diminutive of [[m|la|ānulus|t=ring]], itself a diminutive of [[m|la|ānus|t=ring, circle]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|2, 1134)^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012) The later diminutive took over the main sense of the older word, a finger ring.^(LEI|2, 1134)

+

+ The word lives on in all the Romance languages: [[fro|anel]] (modern [[fr|anneau]]), [[pro|anel]], [[ca|anell]], [[es|anillo]], [[pt|elo]] “link of a chain”, [[sc|anéḍḍu]], [[fur|anèl]] and [[ro|inel]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|2, 1134)^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907) The LEI also finds in the dialects the secondary senses that the Latin word already had, “lock of hair” and “anus”, and notes that in Emilia, Romagna and Umbria the noun changed gender and lost its initial vowel, which was taken for the article.^(LEI|2, 1134)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is a Savona document of 1178–1182.^(TLIO) DELI's earliest Italian forms are ''anellu'' in the ''Ritmo su Sant'Alessio'', from the beginning of the 13th century, and ''anello'' in the ''Novellino'' at the end of that century, for a small circle of gold, silver or other metal worn on the finger.^(DELI 1999)^(LEI|2, 1134) A Piedmontese ''anel'' appears about 1200 in the Sermoni subalpini.^(LEI|2, 1134)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian the ring was worn as an ornament, as a pledge of fidelity and as a sign of public or religious office, and it served as a seal.^(TLIO) The TLIO also records the senses “thimble”, “earring” and the name of a game of chance.^(TLIO) The old plural was the feminine ''anella'': Dante speaks of the long war “che dell'anella fé sì alte spoglie” (that made such high spoils of rings), and Petrarch of a ring without a gem, like a meadow without flowers.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ From the 14th century the word named any ring-shaped object or structure, and in 1581 Torquato Tasso used it for a curl of hair.^(DELI 1999) Learned senses followed: parts of the body shaped like a ring (from the 18th century), the segments of an insect (from the 17th century) and the ring of Saturn (from the 18th century).^(DEI|195) In gymnastics the plural ''anelli'' names the rings, recorded before 1908 in Edmondo De Amicis.^(DELI 1999) The zoological ''anellidi'' (annelids) date from 1875, and ''anellini'', ring-shaped pasta, from 1965.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1178–1182 – The word appears in a Savona document.^(TLIO)

+ * About 1200 – Piedmontese ''anel'' is recorded in the Sermoni subalpini.^(LEI|2, 1134)

+ * Early 13th century – ''Anellu'' appears in the ''Ritmo su Sant'Alessio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Late 13th century – ''Anello'' appears in the ''Novellino''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 14th century – The word is used for any ring-shaped object.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1581 – Torquato Tasso uses it for a curl of hair.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1875 – ''Anellidi'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1908 – Edmondo De Amicis uses ''anelli'' for the gymnastic rings.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1965 – ''Anellini'' is recorded for a kind of pasta.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|ring]] worn on a finger, usually of precious metal and often set with stones, as an ornament, a sign of rank or a token of a bond; in particular the wedding ring: ''Porta al dito un anello con uno smeraldo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Any ring-shaped object, element or structure, such as the rings of a curtain, the links of a [[m|en|chain]], a ring road or the track of a stadium.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(chiefly in the plural)'' Small ring-shaped pasta for soup.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' A round or oval natural opening, as in ''anello ombelicale''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(zoology)'' A body segment of the annelids, a [[m|en|metamere]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(botany)'' The layer of wood a tree adds each year; the membrane round the stem of some mushrooms, the [[m|en|annulus]].^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(chemistry)'' A closed chain of atoms.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(in the plural, gymnastics)'' The rings, two wooden rings hung from ropes.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' An algebraic structure with two operations, addition and multiplication.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' In ''anello di congiunzione'', a link between two series of facts or events.^(Treccani 2011)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[anellino]]

+ * [[anelletto]]

+ * [[anellide]]

+ * [[inanellare]]

+ * [[anellare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ano]]

+ * [[la|ānulus]]

+ * [[fr|anneau]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Besides the plural ''anelli'' Italian had the feminine plurals ''anella'' and ''anelle''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) ''Dare'' or ''prendere l'anello'' meant to marry.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) A Tuscan ''anello'' was also a tailor's thimble open at the top (14th century), and in the countryside round Lucca an ''anello'' was a measure of silkworm eggs, as much as a large tailor's thimble held.^(DEI|195)^(Cortelazzo & Marcato 1998)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}