grasso Italian · revision 38919

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 12th century, Proverbia quae dicuntur super natura feminarum|origins=la crassus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɡras.so/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''grasso''' (feminine grassa, masculine plural grassi, feminine plural grasse)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|graso]], [[roa-oit|grassu]] and [[roa-oit|grass]].^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|grassus|t=fat]], a form of [[la|crassus|t=thick, fat]] with its initial changed under the influence of [[m|la|grossus|t=thick, coarse]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI) The form with /g/ is found in Late Latin glosses and in a veterinary treatise, the Mulomedicina Chironis.^(DEI|1863)^(Devoto 1968|209)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The sense “fat” is found sporadically in Latin from Plautus, and by the end of the 3rd century the adjective had replaced [[m|la|pinguis|t=fat]].^(DEI|1863)^(GDLI)

+

+ The same word is [[fr|gras]], [[oc|gras]], [[ca|gras]], [[es|graso]], [[pt|graxo]], [[sc|rassu]] and [[ro|gras]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) DÉRom reconstructs the Proto-Romance ancestor as [[la-vul|*grassus]], with the senses “fatty” and “fertile”, as a blend of the Latin forms with /k/ and /g/.^(DÉRom) The learned doublet is [[crasso]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The origin of the Latin adjective is unknown.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) The old derivation from a root [[ine-pro|*kert-|t=to wind]] and the comparison with [[la|crātis|t=wickerwork]] are rejected by de Vaan, who notes that it belongs with other adjectives for body shapes that have a double consonant, such as [[m|la|grossus]] and [[m|la|flaccus|t=flabby]].^(de Vaan 2008) Nocentini mentions a possible link with [[m|la|crēscō|t=to grow]] and an Oscan verb meaning “they feed”, so that the word would have meant “well fed”.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the Venetian ''Proverbia quae dicuntur super natura feminarum'' of the last quarter of the 12th century.^(TLIO) The TLIO's senses start from the body of a person or animal, “with plenty of fatty tissue, well fed”, and the noun names the fatty tissue itself.^(TLIO) DELI dates the sense “rich, opulent” to Bono Giamboni before 1292, in ''Bologna la grassa'', and the noun “fat” to 1310.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian the adjective was already used of meat, of fleshy fruit, of greasy hair, of rich soil and of prosperous cities.^(TLIO) In Florence the ''popolo grasso'' were the wealthy members of the major guilds.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(TLIO) Dante writes of how ''lo grasso e 'l magro'' are divided in a body.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) A Tuscan proverb, ''grasso ventre, grosso ingegno'', links a fat belly with a dull mind.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ The sense “rich, abundant” lives on in ''annata grassa'', a year of good harvests, and ''giovedì grasso'' and ''martedì grasso'' are the last Thursday and Tuesday of Carnival, before the meatless days of Lent.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) The figurative sense “coarse, lewd”, of talk and jokes, is found in Salvator Rosa before 1650, with ''parole grasse'' in 1798.^(DELI 1999) In chemistry the noun has named esters of fatty acids with glycerol since 1933.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – ''Grasso'' appears in the Venetian ''Proverbia quae dicuntur super natura feminarum''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni writes of ''Bologna la grassa''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1310 – The noun “fatty tissue” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it of fat people.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1473 – ''Grassoccio'' “plump” is recorded in Lorenzo de' Medici.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1650 – Salvator Rosa uses it for “lewd, coarse”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1905 – ''Grassetto'' “bold type” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1933 – The chemical sense of the noun is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|fat]], having a lot of body fat: ''un gatto grasso''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Containing fat, [[m|en|fatty]]: ''carne grassa'', ''formaggi grassi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Of soil, fertile, rich.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Abundant, plentiful; profitable; of a person, wealthy: ''un affare grasso'', ''un'annata grassa''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Thick and sticky; of air, heavy and dense.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # [[m|en|greasy]], oily: ''pelle grassa'', ''capelli grassi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Coarse, lewd, of talk or jokes; of laughter, loud and unrestrained.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(botany)'' ''Piante grasse'': [[m|en|succulent]] plants.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Fat, the [[m|en|adipose tissue|alt=fatty tissue]] of people and animals: ''Togli il grasso dalla bistecca.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A fat person.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A greasy substance, such as a lubricant: ''una macchia di grasso sui pantaloni''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ingrassare]]

+ * [[sgrassare]]

+ * [[digrassare]]

+ * [[grassetto]]

+ * [[grassezza]]

+ * [[grassoccio]]

+ * [[grassone]]

+ * [[grassume]]

+ * [[grassello]]

+ * [[grassaggio]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[crasso]]

+ * [[grosso]]

+ * [[la|crassus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''A farla grassa'' means “at best, at most”.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) ''Grasso come un porco'' is a common simile, and Tuscan also had ''grasso come un tordo''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}