Analisi onomasiologica e motivazionale delle denominazioni dialettali italiane di ‘pomo d’Adamo’

Abstract

This study aims to identify and analyse the main lexotypes for the notion ‘Adam’s apple’ in Italian dialects. The comparative analysis of data collected by the Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland and the Italian Linguistic Atlas reveals a fair variety of expressions which in most cases are distributed in continuous and homogeneous areas. Generally, according to the main denomination models that distinguish the parts of the human body, these nouns are the result of redetermination processes or metaphorical associations, especially with the plant world. On the motivational level the most productive category refers to the roundness and protrusion of the Adam’s apple, with interesting crossings with cultural references of biblical and popular origin.