lago Italian · revision 39045

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=early 13th century, Uguccione da Lodi|origins=ine-pro *lókus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈla.ɡo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lago''' ''m'' (plural laghi)^(Wiktionary)

+ The archaic and poetic form is [[m|roa-oit|laco]];^(Nocentini 2010)^(TLIO)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Old Italian texts also have northern [[m|roa-oit|lag]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(TLIO)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|roa-oit|laco]], [[inh|la|lacus|t=lake; basin, tank]], from the accusative [[m|la|lacus|alt=lacum]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The voiced /ɡ/ of the modern word in place of /k/ is a northern development, as in many words of standard Italian.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto 1968) The two forms long competed in Tuscan, and the alternation of the two forms poses many problems for editors of Dante, as Migliorini noted.^(DELI 1999) The form with /k/ has since been forgotten, but its /k/ survives in the learned derivatives [[lacuale]] and [[lacustre]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The same Latin word is [[fro|lai]] (modern [[fr|lac]]), [[oc|lac]], [[ca|llac]], [[es|lago]], [[pt|lago]], [[sc|lagu]] and [[ro|lac]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) It also passed into [[br|lagen|t=marsh]] and [[de|Lache|t=puddle]],^(DEI|2152)^(REW 1935) and Nocentini counts [[en|lake]] among the Romance loans.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The Latin word goes back to [[itc-pro|*lakus]] and [[ine-pro|*lókus|t=lake, pool]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Its cognates are [[sga|loch]], [[grc|λάκκος|tr=lákkos|t=pond, cistern]], [[cu|локы|tr=loky|t=puddle, pool]] and [[ang|lagu|t=sea, flood]], all words for a stretch of still water.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010)^(OLD 2012) De Vaan explains the /a/ of the Latin word, in place of the expected /o/, by unrounding after a velarized /l/;^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Wiktionary notes that this word may be the only evidence for such a rule.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the ''Libro'' of the Cremonese poet Uguccione da Lodi, of the early 13th century, for a large body of water, usually fresh, filling a hollow of the land.^(TLIO) DELI's first date for the sense is Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian used the word also for a stagnant marsh, an artificial basin, a pit or hollow in the ground, and figuratively for the feelings that fill the mind.^(TLIO) Dante's ''lago del cor'', “the lake of the heart”, is the cavity of the heart where the blood gathers, and the phrase stayed in literary use.^(TLIO)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The sense “a large quantity of spilled liquid” is in Dante (''laco'', 1313–1319) and in Matteo Frescobaldi (''lago'', before 1348).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ In Tuscan place names ''lago'' can also name a small pond or pool.^(Prati 1951|571) The technical terms of geography came much later: ''lago artificiale'' “reservoir” is dated 1929, ''lago craterico'' “crater lake” 1957.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 13th century – Uguccione da Lodi uses the word.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo has ''lago''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1313–1319 – Dante uses ''laco'' for a large quantity of spilled liquid.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – ''Lagone'', a large lake, is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1492 – Lorenzo de' Medici uses ''lagone'' for a basin of the boric steam vents of Tuscany.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1929 – ''Lago artificiale'' “reservoir” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|lake]]: a large body of water, usually fresh, lying in a hollow of the land, fed by rivers or streams and not directly connected to the sea: ''Abbiamo passato l'estate in una casa sul lago.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(chiefly plural)'' A region with many lakes: ''la zona dei laghi''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A large [[m|en|pool]] of spilled liquid: ''un lago di sangue'', ''un lago di sudore''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A cavity or hollow, especially in ''lago del cuore'', the cavity of the heart where blood gathers.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[laghetto]]

+ * [[lagone]]

+ * [[lacuale]]

+ * [[lacustre]]

+ * [[allagare]]

+ * [[allagamento]]

+ * [[dilagare]]

+ * [[oltrelago]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[laguna]]

+ * [[lacuna]]

+ * [[la|lacus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Essere in un lago di sudore'' means “to be bathed in sweat”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) A minor homograph ''lago'' “needle”, from ''l'ago'' with the article fused to the noun, is recorded in Pisan dialect.^(DEI|2152)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}