muro Italian · revision 38313

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1294, Brunetto Latini|origins=itc-pro *moiros}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈmu.ro/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''muro''' ''m'' (plural muri m or (collectively, when referring to the walls of a town, castle, etc.) mura f)^(Wiktionary)

+ The plural is ''muri'' and, for the walls of a town or of a house taken together, ''mura'' (feminine).^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) Old Italian also had ''muru'' and a plural ''mure''.^(GDLI|11, 105)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|mūrus|t=wall, city wall]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) The word is panromance: [[fr|mur]], [[oc|mur]], [[ca|mur]], [[es|muro]], [[pt|muro]], [[sc|muru]], [[dlm|mor]] and [[rup|mur]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) From Romance it was borrowed into the South Slavic languages as [[sh|mir]] and [[sl|mir]], found in place names.^(DEI|2533)

+

+ The older Latin spelling was [[m|la|moerus]] or [[m|la|moirus]], from [[itc-pro|*moiros]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) De Vaan derives it from [[ine-pro|*(H)moi-ro-|t=building]], and Nocentini connects it, like [[m|la|moenia|t=city walls]] (the source of [[munire]]), with the root [[ine-pro|*mei-]] of [[sa|मिनोति|tr=minoti|t=fixes a post in the ground]], a word from the building of palisades.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010) DELI, however, calls the Latin word of unknown origin.^(DELI 1999) The Latin compound [[m|la|pōmērium|t=strip of land round the walls]] is from a phrase meaning “behind the wall”.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Brunetto Latini, before 1294, for a structure built of bricks or stones laid one on another.^(DELI 1999) Bono Giamboni has the transferred sense “shelter, defence” before 1292.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The collective plural ''mura'' was used for the walls round a town, recorded in Dino Compagni (1310–1312), and in the 10th century the form was already used as a feminine singular.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2533) Boccaccio tells of two houses divided “only by a very thin wall” (''da un sottilissimo muro'').^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The sense “barrier, obstacle” is recorded in the 14th century, and the figurative use for anything as dense or compact as a wall in 1891.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Latin derivatives came down with the word: [[muraglia]] continues the neuter plural of [[m|la|mūrālis]], and [[murare]] the Late Latin verb [[m|la-lat|mūrō]], from which came [[muratore]], recorded in 1250.^(DELI 1999) The modern language uses ''muro'' in sport for a jump in show jumping, a steep stretch of a ski run or a hard climb in cycling, and in volleyball for a block.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Proverbs and phrases include ''anche i muri hanno orecchie'', “even the walls have ears”, and ''mettere al muro'', to execute by firing squad.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 10th century – The plural ''mura'' is used as a feminine singular.^(DEI|2533)

+ * 1250 – ''Muratore'' “mason” is recorded in Ugieri Apugliese.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''muro'' for a defence.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''muro'' for a wall.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni uses ''mura'' for the walls of a city.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1891 – Petrocchi records the figurative sense “something dense like a wall”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|wall]], a structure of bricks or stones, usually joined with mortar, whose height and length are greater than its thickness: ''Hanno appeso il quadro al muro del soggiorno.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(plural mura)'' The walls of a town or a fortress; also the walls of a house, as a place of shelter.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Something that blocks the way like a wall: ''un muro di fumo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' An [[m|en|obstacle]], a barrier: ''un muro di diffidenza''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(sports)'' A wall-like obstacle in show jumping, a very steep stretch in skiing, a hard climb in cycling, and in [[m|en|volleyball]] a block.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[muraglia]]

+ * [[muraglione]]

+ * [[murale]]

+ * [[murare]]

+ * [[muratore]]

+ * [[muratura]]

+ * [[murario]]

+ * [[murata]]

+ * [[muretto]]

+ * [[muricciolo]]

+ * [[muraiola]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[munire]]

+ * [[la|murus]]

+ * [[la|moenia]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Set phrases include ''muro a secco'', a dry-stone wall, ''con le spalle al muro'', with one's back to the wall, and ''il muro del pianto'', the Western Wall in Jerusalem.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}