ubriaco Italian · revision 38365

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1292, Fiore di rettorica|origins=ine-pro *h₁egʷʰ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /u.briˈa.ko/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ubriaco''' (feminine ubriaca, masculine plural ubriachi, feminine plural ubriache)^(Wiktionary)

+ Tuscan has ''briaco'' and regional Italian ''imbriaco'';^(Nocentini 2010)^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|21, 13) ''ubbriaco'' is recorded from the 16th to the 19th century.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|21, 13) Old forms include ''ebriaco'' and ''obriaco''.^(LEI|21, 13) Northern varieties have [[vec|imbriago]].^(LEI|21, 13)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|ēbriācus|t=intoxicated]], a derivative of [[la|ēbrius|t=drunk]], the source of [[ebbro]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin word is first found in the mime writer Laberius in the 1st century BC.^(DELI 1999)^(LEI|21, 13) DELI notes that the suffix [[m|la|-ācus]] also appears in [[m|la|merācus|t=undiluted]], from [[m|la|merum|t=pure wine]], which weakens the idea that it was a mock personal name;^(DELI 1999) Schulze thought it arose in the spoken Latin of northern Italy, where surnames in ⟨-acum⟩ were common.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The word lives on in almost all Romance languages except Romanian: [[fro|ivrai]], [[pro|ebriac]], [[ca|embriac]] and Old Spanish [[m|es|embriago]].^(LEI|21, 13)^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Only in Italy, southern France and Catalan does it remain current;^(LEI|21, 13) French uses [[m|fr|ivre]], the outcome of the simple adjective.^(LEI|21, 13) The Italian initial ⟨u-⟩ comes from the unstressed vowel before the labial consonant, through stages ⟨e-⟩, ⟨o-⟩.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) The weak initial syllable dropped in Tuscan [[briaco]], or was strengthened with a nasal in [[imbriaco]].^(DELI 1999)

+

+ [[m|la|ēbrius]] goes back to [[itc-pro|*ēχwrio-]] and is derived from [[ine-pro|*h₁egʷʰ-|t=to drink]], with the same development of ⟨-gʷʰr-⟩ to ⟨-br-⟩ as in [[m|la|febris]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) The root is also in [[grc|νήφω|tr=nḗphō|t=to be sober]], originally “not to drink”, and in the Hittite verb for “to drink”.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The LEI's first record is a Florentine text, the ''Fiore di rettorica'', before 1292.^(LEI|21, 13) DELI and GRADIT date the word to Boccaccio's ''Decameron'' of 1348–1353, in the sense “drunk”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Bono Giamboni advises not to tell a secret ''a ubbriaco, né a mala femina'' (“to a drunk, nor to a wicked woman”).^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense “so excited that one's judgement is clouded” is found in Baldelli in 1549 and in Paolo Segneri in 1686; the modern phrases are ''ubriaco d'amore'' and ''ubriaco di felicità''.^(LEI|21, 13)^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The noun “a drunk person” is recorded in Varchi in 1554, as ''ubbriaco''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The derivatives ''ubriachezza'' “drunkenness” (about 1470, Alberti) and ''ubriacone'' “drunkard” followed, and the verb ''ubriacarsi'' “to get drunk” is in Florio's dictionary of 1598.^(LEI|21, 13)^(DELI 1999) The phrase ''ubriaco fradicio'', “soaking drunk”, is shared with the dialects.^(LEI|21, 13)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1st century BC – Latin ''ebriacus'' is used by Laberius.^(DELI 1999)^(LEI|21, 13)

+ * Before 1292 – Florentine ''ubriaco'' is recorded in the ''Fiore di rettorica''.^(LEI|21, 13)

+ * 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses ''ubriaco'' in the ''Decameron''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * About 1470 – ''Ubriachezza'' is used by Leon Battista Alberti.^(LEI|21, 13)

+ * 1554 – Benedetto Varchi uses ''ubbriaco'' as a noun.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1598 – ''Ubriacarsi'' appears in John Florio's dictionary.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1686 – Paolo Segneri uses it for “carried away, intoxicated by a feeling”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|drunk]], intoxicated by alcohol: ''Dopo tre bicchieri era già ubriaco.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Dazed, stunned: ''ubriaco di stanchezza''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Carried away by a strong feeling: ''ubriaco di gioia''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A drunk, a drunken person; also a [[m|en|drunkard]]: ''Un ubriaco cantava sotto le finestre.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ubriacare]]

+ * [[ubriachezza]]

+ * [[ubriacatura]]

+ * [[ubriacone]]

+ * [[ubriachesco]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ebbro]]

+ * [[ebrezza]]

+ * [[sobrio]]

+ * [[la|ebrius]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Ubriaco fradicio'' means “dead drunk”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The proverb ''volere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca'', literally “to want a full barrel and a drunk wife”, is listed by GRADIT.^(GRADIT 2003) The literary synonym is ''ebbro'', and colloquial ones are ''sbronzo'' and regional ''ciucco''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}