gelato Italian · revision 39176

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=early 13th century, Uguccione da Lodi|origins=la gelū}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /d͡ʒeˈla.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''gelato''' (feminine gelata, masculine plural gelati, feminine plural gelate)^(Wiktionary)

+ As a noun, “ice cream”, it is masculine, with the plural ''gelati''.^(Wiktionary)^(GRADIT 2003) Old Italian forms of the participle include [[m|roa-oit|gielato]], [[m|roa-oit|gialato]] and northern [[m|roa-oit|zelao]].^(TLIO)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the past participle of [[gelare]] “to freeze”, used as an adjective and, from the end of the 18th century, as a noun.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) The participle continues [[inh|la|gelātus|t=frozen]], from [[m|la|gelō|t=to freeze]], a verb formed on [[m|la|gelū|t=frost, cold]], which also gave Italian [[gelo]].^(Wiktionary)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The Romance outcomes of the verb are [[fr|geler]], [[oc|gelar]], [[ca|gelar]], [[es|helar]] and [[pt|gear]].^(Nocentini 2010) DELI calls the formation of the Latin noun unclear but surely Indo-European.^(DELI 1999) Nocentini compares Germanic words for cold: [[ang|cōl|t=cool]], [[goh|kuoli|t=cool]], [[m|ang|ceald|alt=cald|t=cold]] and [[m|goh|kalt|t=cold]].^(Nocentini 2010) Wiktionary traces the family to [[ine-pro|*gel-|t=cold]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record of the adjective is the Cremonese ''Libro'' of Uguccione da Lodi, of the early 13th century, in the sense “frozen, turned to ice”.^(TLIO) DELI's first record of the sense “very cold” is in the Italian version of Brunetto Latini.^(DELI 1999) Dante writes of the frozen lake of Cocytus, ''de' gelati guazzi'' “of the frozen pools”.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian ''gelato'' described ice and frozen liquids, frost-covered ground, cold seasons and places, a body without warmth, and the cold sweat or numbness of fear; it was also used figuratively of a person without passion or love.^(TLIO) The sense “frozen with fear or dismay” is still alive.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ DEI dates ices of the modern kind to the 16th century in Tuscany and says they were brought from there to France.^(DEI|1779) Before the noun ''gelato'', such desserts were called ''acque gelate'' (1798) and ''pezzi gelati''.^(DELI 1999)^(Prati 1951|489) The noun is first recorded in Vittorio Alfieri, who died in 1803, and Fanfani in 1863 called it a term of the coffee-house keepers.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) The ''gelato da passeggio'', on a stick or in a cone, is recorded from 1940.^(DELI 1999) Words for the trade followed: [[gelataio]] (1893, Pirandello), [[gelateria]] (1901) and [[gelatiera]] (1939–40).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ English took the word as [[en|gelato]], recorded by the OED in 1932 (with an earlier example of 1868), French uses the plural ''gelati'', and southern German and Austrian ''Gefrorenes'' is a calque of it.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 13th century – Uguccione da Lodi uses ''gelato'' “frozen”.^(TLIO)

+ * 1798 – Ices are called ''acque gelate''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1803 – Vittorio Alfieri uses the noun ''gelato'' “ice cream”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+ * 1863 – Fanfani records ''gelato'' as a coffee-house term.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1893 – Pirandello uses ''gelataio'' “ice-cream maker or seller”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1901 – ''Gelateria'' “ice-cream shop” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1932 – English ''gelato'' is recorded by the OED.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1940 – The ''gelato da passeggio'', eaten while walking, is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|frozen]], turned to ice; of fruit or vegetables, spoiled by frost: ''Al mattino il laghetto era gelato.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Very cold, [[m|en|icy]]: ''Avevo i piedi gelati dopo la passeggiata.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Of a person, frozen with fear, horror or shock: ''restare gelato''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|ice cream]]: a sweet of milk or cream, sugar and flavourings such as fruit, chocolate or nuts, frozen while being stirred: ''un gelato al pistacchio''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(loosely)'' A [[m|en|sorbet]].^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(television slang)'' A hand microphone shaped like an ice-cream cone.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gelataio]]

+ * [[gelateria]]

+ * [[gelatiera]]

+ * [[gelatiere]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gelare]]

+ * [[gelo]]

+ * [[gelata]]

+ * [[gelido]]

+ * [[surgelato]]

+ * [[la|gelū]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ After a noun ''gelato'' is used as an invariable modifier, as in ''cono gelato'' and ''torta gelato'', an ice-cream cake.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}