tasca Italian · revision 39161

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1313, Dante|origins=frk *taskā}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈtas.ka/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''tasca''' ''f'' (plural tasche)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Its origin is disputed.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) DELI gives the most widespread view, that it is [[bor|frk|*taskā|t=bag]], beside [[goh|tasca]] (modern [[de|Tasche]]), and Devoto–Oli and Treccani say the same;^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary) Wiktionary traces the Frankish word to [[gem-pro|*taskǭ]], perhaps from [[ine-pro|*das-|t=to fray]].^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary) Gabrielli takes it directly from the Old High German word.^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ Nocentini reverses the direction: Frankish took the word from [[la-vul|*tasca]], a metathesis of [[la|taxa|t=tax]], which in the Middle Ages meant a day's rural service, as in [[oc|tasca]] “tithe”, [[ca|tasca]] “feudal service” and [[fr|tâche]] “task”; in Germanic it became the purse holding the day's pay, and returned to Romance with that sense.^(Nocentini 2010) Körting, following Kluge and Mackel, had suggested a similar link with [[la-vul|*taxicō]], a frequentative of [[m|la|taxō|t=to assess, rate]], a path that DELI and the GDLI also mention.^(Körting 1907)^(Zaccaria 1901)^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) Grimm connected the Germanic word with [[la-med|taxaca|t=theft]] in the Salic Law.^(Zaccaria 1901) DEI and Prati call the origin unknown, noting that the Old High German word is recorded from the 9th century, and Devoto saw in it an old European Alpine word.^(DEI|3726)^(Prati 1951|978)^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ The word is also [[pro|tasca]] and dialectal French [[m|fr|tasque]]; through Hungarian it reached Romanian.^(DEI|3726)^(Körting 1907)^(Zaccaria 1901) A derivative is [[lij|taschera]] “shoulder bag”.^(DEI|3726)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Medieval Latin ''tasca'' is recorded in the 13th century, at Bologna in 1218 and at Parma in 1255.^(DEI|3726)^(GDLI) The first Italian use is Dante's (1300–1313), with the only old sense, “bag, purse”: in the ''Inferno'' the usurers each have a purse hanging from the neck, ''dal collo a ciascun pendea una tasca''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI) Iacopone da Todi also mentions a ''tasca'' among a beggar's provisions.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old and Renaissance Italian used ''tasca'' for a bag or satchel, usually carried over the shoulder: Domenico Cavalca's hermit carried his little books in a leather ''tasca'', and in Pisa and Lucca the ''tasca'' was the bag from which the names of public officers were drawn by lot.^(GDLI)^(DEI|3726) The sense “pocket”, a small bag sewn into a garment, is recorded from 1640, in Oudin's dictionary; in 1726 Salvini defended ''tasca'' against those who preferred ''saccoccia''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Derivatives followed the new sense: ''taschino'' (before 1748), ''tascata'' “a pocketful” (1738), ''tascabile'' “that fits in a pocket” (1763), later also “small” and, from 1970, a paperback.^(DELI 1999) The soldiers' ''tascapane'', a bread bag, is recorded from 1918, preceded by ''saccapane'' (1891).^(DELI 1999) The 20th century added a compartment of a bag or wallet (1939–1940), the pastry bag (1965) and anatomical pouches.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) ''Rompere le tasche'', to annoy, is recorded in 1839.^(DEI|3726)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1218 – Medieval Latin ''tasca'' is recorded at Bologna.^(DEI|3726)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses ''tasca'' for a purse hung from the neck.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – ''Intascare'' “to pocket” is first recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1640 – Oudin's dictionary records the sense “pocket”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1726 – Salvini defends ''tasca'' against ''saccoccia''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1763 – Algarotti uses ''tascabile''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1839 – Guadagnoli uses ''rompere le tasche''.^(DEI|3726)

+ * 1918 – ''Tascapane'' is recorded in Panzini's dictionary.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1965 – ''Tasca'' is recorded for a pastry bag.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|pocket]]: a small bag sewn inside or onto a garment to hold small objects: ''Ho trovato le chiavi nella tasca della giacca.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A compartment of a wallet, bag or suitcase: ''uno zaino con due tasche laterali''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A [[borsa|alt=bag]] or satchel.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(cooking)'' A [[m|en|piping bag]], a funnel-shaped cloth bag for decorating cakes with cream.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(cooking)'' A piece of meat cut or folded to be stuffed; the stuffed dish.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' A pouch-shaped organ or cavity.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[taschino]]

+ * [[tascabile]]

+ * [[tascapane]]

+ * [[tascata]]

+ * [[intascare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[saccoccia]]

+ * [[borsa]]

+ * [[de|Tasche]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Many idioms use the word: ''conoscere come le proprie tasche'' “to know like the back of one's hand”, ''avere in tasca'' “to be sure of getting”, ''starsene con le mani in tasca'' “to sit idle”, ''pagare di tasca propria'' “to pay out of one's own pocket”, and colloquially ''averne le tasche piene'' “to be fed up” and ''rompere le tasche'' “to annoy”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}