cieco Italian · revision 38874

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1225, Garzo|origins=ine-pro *kéh₂ikos}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈt͡ʃɛ.ko/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cieco''' (feminine cieca, masculine plural ciechi, feminine plural cieche)^(Wiktionary)

+ The variant ''ceco'' is uncommon.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Prati 1951)

+ The TLIO records northern forms such as [[roa-oit|cego]] and [[roa-oit|zego]].^(TLIO)^(LEI|9, 551)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|caecus|t=blind; dark; invisible]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The word survives in [[fro|cieu]], since replaced by [[m|fr|aveugle]], [[oc|cec]], [[ca|cec]], [[es|ciego]] and [[pt|cego]], but not in Romanian, which uses [[m|ro|orb]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(LEI|9, 551)

+

+ From the 2nd century the Latin word had a rival in [[la|orbus|t=bereft]], which replaced it in some areas.^(LEI|9, 551) In the Middle Ages northern Italy said [[orbo]], central Italy kept the Latin word, and the south [[cecato]]; since the northern word also reached Tuscany early (Dante has it), Jaberg considered the central Italian form a Latinism.^(LEI|9, 551)

+

+ The Latin adjective goes back to [[itc-pro|*kaikos]] and [[ine-pro|*kéh₂ikos|t=one-eyed]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Its cognates are [[sga|cáech|t=one-eyed]] and [[got|𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍃|tr=haihs|t=one-eyed]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010) Nocentini points to the same suffix in /k/ as other Latin words for bodily defects, such as [[m|la|mancus|t=maimed]] and [[m|la|luscus|t=one-eyed]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Garzo, about 1225, in the sense “without sight”; the TLIO's is in the ''Libro'' of Uguccione da Lodi (Cremona, early 13th century).^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative “without the light of reason” appears about 1260 in the laude of Cortona, and “dark, without light” in Dante.^(DELI 1999) The TLIO adds a 14th-century proverb, ''cane frettoloso fa catelli ciechi'', “a hasty bitch bears blind puppies”.^(TLIO) The sense “without an exit” is in Annibal Caro (before 1566), and the anatomical ''intestino cieco'', the first part of the large intestine, in Mondino de' Liuzzi in the 15th century.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Fortune and love are ''cieche'' because they distribute their favours blindly, and ''alla cieca'' means “blindly, at random”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The feminine noun ''cieca'' names the young eel whose eyes are still closed (1891), and in Pisa and Pistoia also the slow-worm;^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Prati 1951|288) Prati records ''lettera cieca'' for an anonymous letter.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Prati 1951|288)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1225 – Garzo uses ''cieco'' for “blind”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * c. 1260 – The laude of Cortona use it for “without reason”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it for “dark”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 15th century – Mondino de' Liuzzi names the ''intestino cieco''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1566 – Annibal Caro uses it for “without an exit”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1891 – ''Cieca'' is recorded for the young eel.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|blind]], unable to see: ''È cieco da un occhio dalla nascita.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Blinded by passion, without judgement: ''cieco d'odio''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Unconditional, total: ''una fiducia cieca''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Of fortune or love, acting without regard to merit.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Without an exit or opening: ''vicolo cieco'', ''muro cieco''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(literary)'' Dark, without light.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A blind person: ''Il cieco attraversava la strada con il cane guida.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cieca]]

+ * [[cecità]]

+ * [[accecare]]

+ * [[accecamento]]

+ * [[cecaggine]]

+ * [[ciecamente]]

+ * [[semicieco]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[orbo]]

+ * [[la|caecus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ DEI gives a separate entry to the anatomical ''cieco'', the [[m|en|caecum]], a learned word from Latin ''caecum'', itself a calque of the Greek name used by Aristotle.^(DEI|932) ''Mosca cieca'' is blind man's buff, and ''vicolo cieco'' a dead end.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}