abbacchiare

Italian

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *abbaclāre, from ab- (“off, away”) + baculum (“stick”). Surface analysis: a- +‎ bacchio (“rod, stick”) +‎ -are (1st conjugation suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ab.bakˈkja.re/

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• Hyphenation: ab‧bac‧chià‧re
• Rhymes: -are

Verb

abbacchiare

1. (transitive) to beat down with a pole fruit from a tree

   Synonym: bacchiare

   • 1864, Emilio Praga, “Egloga – A Bernardino Zembrini [Eclogue – To Bernardino Zembrini]”, in Penombre‎^[1], page 11:

     Come restare? Abbacchiano le noci ¶ Sulle montagne

     How can you remain? On the mountains, they are knocking down the walnuts

2. (by extension, transitive):
   1. to knock down, to bring down
   2. (figurative, colloquial) to dishearten or depress
      • 1612, Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger, La Tancia‎^[2], published 1615, Fourth Act, Seventh Scene, page 98:

        Amor par vno ſcherzo alle perſone ¶ Quando non vi s’è drento; e vn legato ¶ Da’ ſuo’ vincigli, vinto dalla pena, ¶ Abbacchiato ne va doue’ nel mena.

        Love seems like a joke to people when you're not caught in it; one – tied by Its strings and defeated by the sorrow – disheartened, goes where It leads him.

   3. (figurative, colloquial) to undersell

Derived terms

• abbacchiamento
• abbacchiarsi
• abbacchiato
• abbacchiatore
• abbacchiatura

 

Anagrams

• abbacchierà

References

• abbacchiare in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
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