bacio Italian · revision 38282

+ {{homograph|1|kiss}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=13th century, Rinaldo d'Aquino|origins=la bāsium}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈba.t͡ʃo/, [ˈbaːʃo]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''bacio''' ''m'' (plural baci)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian forms include [[m|roa-oit|bascio]], [[m|roa-oit|basio]], [[m|roa-oit|baso]] and [[m|roa-oit|bagio]].^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)^(LEI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The kiss is [[inh|la|bāsium|t=kiss]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin word first appears, with the verb [[m|la|bāsiō|alt=basiāre]], in Catullus, who was from Verona, and that is why it is often thought to be a Celtic loan.^(DELI 1999)^(de Vaan 2008)^(DEI|398) Its erotic sense set it apart from [[la|ōsculum]], but in Imperial Latin it became the ordinary word, replacing that noun and [[m|la|sāvium]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(LEI|4, 1735) De Vaan also notes the many words for “kiss” in other languages built on [[ine-pro|*bu-]] with a sibilant, which point to a sound-imitative origin.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The word survives everywhere in Romance except French and Romanian: [[fur|bâs]], [[oc|bais]], [[ca|bes]], [[es|beso]], [[pt|beijo]] and [[sc|basu]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|4, 1735)^(REW 1935) In the South Italian dialects the word fell together with the outcome of [[la|vas|t=vessel]] and was replaced by derivatives.^(DEI|398)^(REW 1935) The old spelling with ⟨sc⟩ beside ⟨c⟩ shows the hesitation between /tʃ/ and /ʃ/ in rendering Latin /sj/.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is ''bascio'' in Rinaldo d'Aquino, in the 13th century, for the kiss given out of love;^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)^(Zingarelli 2010) Zingarelli dates the word to about 1261.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)^(Zingarelli 2010) The spelling ''bacio'' appears in Cecco Angiolieri before 1313.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already distinguished kisses of love, of family affection, of respect and submission, of peace, and the kiss given to the ground of a holy place; the ''bacio di Giuda'' echoes the Gospel story of Judas's betrayal.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999) Tommaseo records the Tuscan proverb ''bacio di bocca spesso cuor non tocca'' (“a kiss of the mouth often does not touch the heart”).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ Modern Italian ends letters with ''baci'' or ''baci e abbracci'' and has many fixed phrases: ''bacio della buonanotte'', ''bacio della morte'', ''malattia del bacio'' (mononucleosis), and colloquial ''al bacio'' “perfect”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) ''Bacio'' is also a sweet: the ''bacio di dama'' and the chocolate with a hazelnut first sold as a brand name by the Perugina company.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – Rinaldo d'Aquino uses ''bascio''.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1313 – Cecco Angiolieri uses the form ''bacio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1367 – Fazio degli Uberti uses ''bagio''.^(LEI)

+ * Before 1554 – ''Baciamano'' is recorded in Sabba da Castiglione.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|kiss]], a touch of the lips on someone or something as a sign of love, affection or respect: ''Le ha dato un bacio sulla guancia.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # In greetings and at the end of letters: ''baci'', ''un bacio''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(cooking)'' A small sweet or chocolate: ''bacio di dama''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[baciare]]

+ * [[bacetto]]

+ * [[bacione]]

+ * [[baciucchiare]]

+ * [[sbaciucchiare]]

+ * [[baciamano]]

+ * [[baciapile]]

+ * [[combaciare]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|shady, north-facing}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1308–1330, Libro segreto di Giotto|origins=la opācus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /baˈt͡ʃi.o/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''bacio''' (feminine bacia, masculine plural bacii, feminine plural bacie)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective “north-facing” is [[inh|la-vul|*opacīvus|t=shady]], a Vulgar Latin derivative of [[la|opācus|t=shady, dark]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) It is stressed on the ⟨i⟩.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The /b/ for /p/ is due to northern Italian dialects, and the first vowel was taken as part of the article: “l’obacìo” became “lo bacìo”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968) Related dialect forms are [[lmo|vag]], [[rgn|beg]] and [[pms|übak]], and [[roa-oit|ombaco]] has its ⟨m⟩ from [[ombra]].^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907)^(DEI|398) Across the Alps the same Latin word gave [[oc|ubac]] and [[ca|ubac]].^(REW 1935)^(DEI|398)

+

+ The origin of the Latin adjective is unknown; de Vaan rejects the old comparison with Sanskrit and Old Church Slavonic words meaning “turned away” and suggests, only as a possibility, a compound with the root of [[la|vacuus]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the Florentine ''Libro segreto di Giotto'' (1308–1330).^(TLIO) DELI's first records are Luigi Pulci (before 1484) for a north-facing place and Giovan Battista Tedaldi (16th century) for the adjective.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word is Tuscan and mostly agricultural, the opposite of ''solatio'' “sunny”: Crescenzi's translation already uses ''a bacìo'' “facing north”, and Bernardo Davanzati writes of plums that thrive in ''luoghi murati e bacii'' (walled and shady places).^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Nocentini 2010) Pascoli and D'Annunzio revived it as a literary word.^(DEI|398)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1308–1330 – ''Bacìo'' appears in the ''Libro segreto di Giotto''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1484 – Luigi Pulci uses it for a north-facing place.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 16th century – Giovan Battista Tedaldi uses it as an adjective.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(regional, rare)'' [[m|en|shady]], not reached by the sun because it faces north: ''un pendio bacìo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(regional)'' A north-facing, shady place, ''a bacìo'', facing north.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[opaco]]

+ * [[solatio]]

+ * [[la|bāsium]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}