Etymology

Akin to fiacco (“tired, feeble”), from LatinCategory:Italian terms derived from Latin#FIOCO flaccus (“flabby, flaccid”), possibly with contamination of roco, rauco (“hoarse”). Compare also German flau (“weak”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfjɔ.ko/Category:Italian 2-syllable words#FIOCOCategory:Italian terms with IPA pronunciation#FIOCO
• Rhymes: -ɔkoCategory:Rhymes:Italian/ɔko#FIOCOCategory:Rhymes:Italian/ɔko/2 syllables#FIOCO
• Hyphenation: fiò‧co

Adjective

fioco (feminine fioca, masculine plural fiochi, feminine plural fioche)Category:Italian lemmas#FIOCOCategory:Italian adjectives#FIOCOCategory:Italian entries with incorrect language header#FIOCOCategory:Pages with entries#FIOCOCategory:Pages with 1 entry#FIOCO

1. hoarse, feeble, weak, faint
2. dim, wan
   • 1300s–1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto I”, in Inferno [Hell], lines 61–63; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     Mentre ch’i’ rovinava in basso loco, ¶ dinanzi a li occhi mi si fu offerto ¶ chi per lungo silenzio parea fioco.

     While I was rushing downward to the lowland, before my eyes presented himself he who looked dim due to long-continued silence.

     Category:Italian terms with quotations#FIOCO

Further reading

• fioco in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
• Pianigiani, Ottorino (1907), “fioco”, in Vocabolario etimologico della lingua italiana (in Italian), Rome: Albrighi & Segati

Anagrams

• ciofo