fiale

Of obscure origin. Related to Swedish fial, Middle High German vialen (early New High German figallen).

fiale c (singular definite fialen, plural indefinite fialer)

1. (architecture) pinnacle

• IPA^(key): /ˈfja.le/
• Rhymes: -ale
• Hyphenation: fià‧le

Alteration of fiavo.

fiale m (plural fiali)

1. (archaic or poetic) honeycomb

   Synonyms: favo, (archaic) fiavo

   • 13^th century, “Come si governa il mele, e la cera”, in Trattato dell'agricoltura [Treatise On Agriculture]‎^[1], translation of Opus ruralium commodorum libri XII by Pietro De' Crescenzi, published 1605, page 500:

     Il mele si cava de’ fiali in questo modo. I fiali, innanzi che si priemano, si toglie via se v’è alcuna parte corrotta, e cacchionosa, imperocché di mal sapore il mele corrompono

     This is how to extract honey from the honeycombs. Before squeezing the honeycombs, any part that is rotten, or presents larvae, is to be cut off, for they taint the honey's taste.

   • 1567, Ricettario fiorentino [Florentine Cookbook]‎^[2], page 141:

     Spremi il mele da fiali, et cuoci in vaso di terra tanto, che la stiuma, et la parte cerosa si separi.

     Squeeze the honey out of the honeycombs, and cook it in an earthenware vessel, enough that the foam separates from the waxy part.

   • 1668, Francesco Redi, Esperienze intorno alla generazione degl’insetti [Experiences About the Generation of Insects], page 47:

     se per fortuna fosse avvenuto che le pecchie si fossero gettate a mangiar le carni di quel leone, ed in mangiandole vi avessero fatti sopra i loro semi o partoriti i loro cacchioni, da’ quali nate poi le giovanette api avessero potuto nella tessitura di quell’ossa fabbricare i fiali del mele

     If, by chance, the bees had swarmed to eat the flesh of that lion, and in doing so had produced their seeds or given birth to their larvae, born from which the young bees could have constructed in the framing of those bones the honeycombs

   • 1898, Gabriele D'Annunzio, La gioconda:

     Un giorno sbucciavano un'arancia: e ne fecero tanti spicchi, e a me ne toccò uno ed era dolce come un fiale.

     One day, they were peeling an orange, and divided it into many segments: I was given one, and it was as sweet as a honeycomb.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

fiale f pl

1. plural of fiala

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

• afeli, ifale

fiale

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of fiar combined with le