castello Italian · revision 39317

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kasˈtɛl.lo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''castello''' ''m'' (plural castelli or (Old Italian) castella)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also had a feminine plural [[m|roa-oit|castella]], common in early texts.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+ Northern Old Italian forms include [[m|roa-oit|castelo]] and [[m|roa-oit|castel]], and Old Bergamasque had the plural [[m|roa-oit|castey]].^(LEI|12, 1223)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|castellum|t=fortified settlement, fort]], a diminutive of [[m|la|castrum|t=fortified place]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The learned word [[castro]] continues the base noun.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The Latin word lives on in all the Romance languages except Romanian: [[fr|château]], [[oc|castel]], [[ca|castell]], [[es|castillo]], [[pt|castelo]], [[sc|casteddu]] and [[rm|chastè]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|12, 1223)^(REW 1935) It also passed into the Germanic languages and into Insular Celtic, and Byzantine Greek borrowed it as [[grc|κάστελλον|tr=kástellon]].^(DEI|799)

+

+ According to de Vaan, [[m|la|castrum]] first meant a part cut off, then a fenced property and finally a camp.^(de Vaan 2008) He traces it to [[itc-pro|*kastro-|t=part, share]], perhaps from [[ine-pro|*ḱes-|t=to cut]], the root that also gave [[m|la|castrō|t=to castrate]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the Cremonese poet Uguccione da Lodi, early in the 13th century, who lists ''castelo'' beside ''roca'' among the things that cannot save a man at his death.^(TLIO)^(GDLI|2, 856) The sense is a fortified building with towers and walls, the residence of a lord.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Already before 1294 Guittone d'Arezzo used the word for a village surrounded by walls, the sense still seen in place names such as Castelfranco and the Castelli Romani.^(DELI 1999)^(Treccani 2011) By the 14th century it had technical senses taken from its shape: a wooden scaffold, a siege tower pushed against enemy walls, a tower on an elephant's back, and the raised structure at the bow of a ship.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO) The naval sense was shared by all the Mediterranean fleets, and German took it as ''Castell'' in 1479.^(DEI|799)^(DIFIT)

+

+ Later the word named many frames and supports: the scaffolding of builders, the frame of a crane or a mine shaft, the body of a revolver and the case of a watch's works.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011) ''Letto a castello'', “bunk bed”, and ''castello di carte'', “house of cards”, also used of any plan with no firm basis, are common phrases.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) ''Fare castelli in aria'' means to dream of impossible things, and the poet Passeroni wrote of ''castelli in Ispagna'' in the same sense.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GDLI|Supplemento 2009)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 13th century – Uguccione da Lodi uses ''castelo'' for a castle.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses the word for a walled village.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it for a wooden scaffold.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – The ''Storie pistolesi'' use it for a siege tower.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1405 – Leonardo Frescobaldi uses it for the bow structure of a ship.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1479 – German ''Castell'' “forecastle” is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1877 – ''Castelliere'' names the fortified prehistoric hill villages of Istria.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|castle]]: a fortified group of buildings with walls and towers, the home of a feudal lord; also a fortress.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A large country house built to look like a medieval castle: ''Hanno affittato un castello in Scozia per il matrimonio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A hill village surrounded by walls, now mostly in place names.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(technology)'' A [[m|en|scaffolding|alt=scaffold]] or frame that supports a machine or its parts, such as that of a crane, a diving board or a printer's type cases.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(nautical)'' The raised deck at the bow of a ship, the [[m|en|forecastle]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(historical)'' A wooden siege tower moved against enemy walls.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[castellano]]

+ * [[castelletto]]

+ * [[castelliere]]

+ * [[castellare]]

+ * [[castellatura]]

+ * [[incastellare]]

+ * [[incastellatura]]

+ * [[castellina]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[castro]]

+ * [[la|castellum]]

+ * [[fr|château]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Castello di carte'' (house of cards), ''castelli in aria'' (castles in the air) and ''letto a castello'' (bunk bed) are fixed phrases.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) The old feminine plural ''le castella'' survives in literary use.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}