naso Italian · revision 38501

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=10th century, Monza glossary|origins=ine-pro *néh₂s}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈna.zo/, /ˈna.so/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''naso''' ''m'' (plural nasi, diminutive nasino)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian forms include [[m|roa-oit|nas]], [[roa-oit|nasso]], [[roa-oit|nasu]] and [[roa-oit|naxo]].^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|nāsus|t=nose]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[fr|nez]], [[oc|nas]], [[ca|nas]], [[sc|nasu]] and [[ro|nas]], while [[es|naso]] and [[pt|naso]] mean a big nose.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Latin also had [[m|la|nāris|t=nostril]] and a spelling [[m|la|nassus]].^(DEI|2549)^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ Latin “nāsus” belongs to an old Indo-European word for the nose, [[ine-pro|*néh₂s]], found in [[sa|नासा|tr=nā́sā]], [[lt|nosis|alt=nósis]], [[cu|носъ|tr=nosŭ]], [[goh|nasa]] and [[ang|nosu]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan sets up Proto-Italic stems [[m|itc-pro|*nās-]], [[m|itc-pro|*nāsi-]] and [[m|itc-pro|*nāso-]], and thinks that Latin remade an old dual “the nostrils” as a plural.^(de Vaan 2008) The ⟨s⟩ between vowels should have become ⟨r⟩ in Latin: de Vaan calls it hard to explain, perhaps a relic from before rhotacism or from another social layer, while Devoto ascribes it to an expressive doubled pronunciation.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ The Latin adjective [[m|la|nāsūtus]] came into Italian by the learned route as [[nasuto]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the Monza glossary of the 10th century;^(TLIO)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999) DELI's first record is the early 13th-century ''Canzone del fi' Aldobrandino'', for the projecting part of the face between forehead and mouth, the organ of smell.^(TLIO)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already used the word for the sense of smell and in fixed phrases: ''torcere il naso'' “to wrinkle one's nose”, ''menare per il naso'' “to lead by the nose”, especially by long empty promises, and ''toccare il naso'' “to provoke someone”.^(TLIO) Boccaccio has ''prendere per il naso'', and in astronomy the ''naso'' was a pair of stars, Alpha and Beta Centauri.^(Prati 1951)^(TLIO) The sense “flair, judgement” is first recorded in Francesco Berni (before 1535), and Annibal Caro has ''avere naso''.^(DELI 1999)^(Prati 1951)

+

+ Derivatives include ''nasuto'' (Dante), ''nasale'' (before 1566, Caro; in phonetics from 1778, the nasal consonant from 1870, Ascoli) and ''nasiera'', the ring in a bull's nose (1829).^(DELI 1999) French slang ''nase'' “nose” (1835) may come from Italian or from Provençal.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 10th century – ''Naso'' appears in the Monza glossary.^(TLIO)

+ * Early 13th century – The ''Canzone del fi' Aldobrandino'' uses it.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses ''nasuto''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1535 – Francesco Berni uses ''naso'' for flair.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1566 – Annibal Caro uses ''nasale''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1835 – French slang ''nase'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1870 – Ascoli uses ''nasale'' for a nasal consonant.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|nose]], the part of the face between the forehead and the upper lip, with the nostrils at its base: ''Si è rotto il naso giocando a calcio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The corresponding part of an animal's [[m|en|muzzle]]: ''il naso del gatto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # By extension, the face: ''sbattere la porta sul naso a qualcuno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The sense of [[m|en|smell]]: ''Il mio cane ha un ottimo naso.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Intuition, [[m|en|flair]]: ''Ha sempre avuto naso per gli investimenti.''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+ # A professional smeller, as in perfumery.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # Something shaped like a nose, such as the spout of a jug or the front of a saddle.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(zoology)'' A fish of the genus ''Chondrostoma'' with a long snout (''Chondrostoma nasus'').^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nasale]]

+ * [[nasone]]

+ * [[nasino]]

+ * [[nasetto]]

+ * [[nasuto]]

+ * [[nasiera]]

+ * [[nasello]]

+ * [[nasata]]

+ * [[sottonaso]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[narice]]

+ * [[annusare]]

+ * [[la|nasus]]

+ * [[fr|nez]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases include ''ficcare il naso'' “to poke one's nose” into something, ''menare per il naso'' “to lead by the nose”, ''restare con un palmo di naso'' “to be left disappointed”, ''a lume di naso'' “by guesswork” and ''avere la puzza sotto il naso'' “to be stuck-up”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}