Le avventure di Pinocchio tra letteratura e moda: una breve storia del termine pinocchietto

Abstract

The term pinocchietto, derived from Pinocchio, a famous literary character by Carlo Collodi, arouses interest firstly for its multiple meanings: ‘small pine nut’, ‘skinny and thin person, with pointed features’, ‘trousers, for men and women, which reaches the knee or just below it; knickerbockers’. In this paper, a brief overview of Collodi’s work and the illustrations that accompanied it from the beginning will be first provide. All the meanings of the term will then be investigated, with particular attention to the last meaning (not dated by the dictionaries) and the reasons that led the term to take on this meaning, in connection with the literary work, with the character of Pinocchio and his illustrations. The possible uses of the term (which can take on the value of a noun, an adjective and which can be inserted in the expression alla pinocchietto) will also be investigated, as well as its survival during the twentieth century and up to the present day. Finally, an overview of the numerous synonyms or near-synonyms of the term will close the essay, with references to their origin and their semantic peculiarities.