schiena Italian · revision 38770

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1280–1310, Il Fiore}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈskjɛ.na/, /ˈskje.na/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''schiena''' ''f'' (plural schiene)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old and dialect forms are [[roa-oit|schena]] and [[roa-oit|schina]].^(GDLI) Popular Tuscan had ''stiena'', used by Lorenzo de' Medici.^(DEI|3388)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|lng|*skena|alt=*skëna]], a Germanic word for a long, narrow bone, the shin.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DEI|3388)^(Nocentini 2010) The Germanic noun is [[goh|scina|t=shin; needle]] and survives in [[de|Schiene|t=splint, rail]] and [[de|Schienbein|t=shinbone]], and a relative is [[en|shin]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zaccaria 1901)^(Wiktionary) Its sense passed from “narrow bone” to “backbone” and then “back”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Frankish gave [[fr|échine]], and the word is also [[oc|esquena]], [[ca|esquena]] and [[es|esquina|t=corner]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|3388)

+

+ The diphthong ⟨ie⟩ is unexpected beside the other forms: [[vec|schena]], [[dlm|scaina]] and [[sc|ischina]].^(DEI|3388)^(REW 1935)^(Nocentini 2010) Castellani explained it by an inserted ⟨l⟩, *sklena, which matches [[lmo|s'céna]] in Lombardy, and on this account DELI calls the Lombardic origin less certain.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3388)^(GDLI) DEI notes that the word replaced [[la|dorsum|t=back]] in most Italian dialects, as far south as Bari and the border of Lazio and Campania.^(DEI|3388)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first records are in ''Il Fiore'' (1280–1310) and in Rustico di Filippo (before 1300), in the sense “back of the body”;^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010) Nocentini dates the word to the first half of the 13th century, and Zingarelli to 1282.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010) In the ''Inferno'' the sinners in the boiling pitch show their backs like dolphins that signal to sailors with the arch of their back (“coll'arco della schiena”).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the beginning the word meant both the human back and the back of an animal, from the shoulders to the rump.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(GDLI) The derivative ''schienale'' meant the back in general about 1350, then a cut of meat (before 1492), the backplate of armour (1663) and the back of a chair (1778).^(DELI 1999) In geography the word names a rounded mountain ridge between two slopes.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ Many phrases use it: ''lavoro di schiena'' for heavy work, ''rompersi la schiena'' for working too hard, ''voltare la schiena'' for running away or abandoning someone, and ''colpire alla schiena'' for a treacherous blow.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Treccani 2011) A road or bridge ''a schiena d'asino'' is raised in the middle.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1280–1310 – ''Schiena'' appears in ''Il Fiore''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1300 – Rustico di Filippo uses the word.^(DELI 1999)

+ * c. 1350 – ''Schienale'' is used for the back in Crescenzi's translation.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1749 – ''Schienata'', a blow with the back, is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1778 – ''Schienale'' is used for the back of a seat.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|back]], the rear part of the human trunk from the neck to the waist: ''Ho un dolore alla schiena.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The [[m|en|spine]]: ''Mi è corso un brivido lungo la schiena.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The back of an animal: ''viaggiare a schiena di mulo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A cut of meat from the back of a slaughtered animal.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(geography)'' A rounded mountain [[m|en|ridge]] dividing two slopes.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(historical)'' The backplate of armour (also ''schienale'').^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[schienale]]

+ * [[schienata]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dorso]]

+ * [[spina]]

+ * [[stinco]]

+ * [[fr|échine]]

+ * [[en|shin]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}