What does cicale mean?
"Cicale" is the plural of "cicala", an Italian-derived English name for the cicada — the large insect famed for the sustained, droning song produced by the males, especially in hot Mediterranean summers. The word entered English through Italian sources, and for a time it appeared regularly in British natural-history writing and travel literature describing the insect choruses of southern Europe. In contemporary English, however, it has been almost entirely displaced by "cicada", which is now the standard name in both Britain and North America. Encountering "cicale" today usually signals older prose, entomological works of previous centuries, or writing deliberately evoking an Italian setting. Its connotations are therefore somewhat literary and nostalgic: the word recalls languid afternoons, olive groves, and the shimmering heat-haze in which the insects' song seems to merge with the air itself. For readers and writers, it is best understood as a historical variant rather than a current common name.
nounA cicada — specifically, "cicale" is the plural form of "cicala", an Italian-derived English name for the large, loud insect known for the droning song produced by the males.
- The plural of cicala: a cicada, a large homopterous insect whose male produces a prolonged, droning song.
"The cicale droned through the olive groves all afternoon, their chorus rising and falling with the heat."
"From the shaded veranda we could hear the cicale sawing away in the pines above the terrace."
"The naturalist's notebook described the cicale of southern Italy in affectionate detail."
"Cicale" is itself the plural of "cicala"; there is no further standard pluralized form in English usage.
"The hillside rang with the song of countless cicale."
Before "cicada" became the go-to English name, English speakers borrowed the insect's Italian nickname — and the buzzing chorus of the Mediterranean was known by the imported plural "cicale".
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cicale
"Cicale" derives from "cicala", the Italian name for the cicada, which English writers borrowed directly. The Italian term itself descends from Latin "cicada", the classical Roman name for the insect, so "cicala"/"cicale" and the modern English "cicada" are ultimately cognates from the same Latin root. As English standardized on "cicada" in scientific and common usage, the Italian-derived form gradually fell out of regular use.
Related word forms
How cicale is actually used
"Cicale" is now rare in everyday English, surviving mainly in older natural-history writing and in contexts with an Italian flavor. Modern usage overwhelmingly favors "cicada" (with "cicadas" as its plural); "cicala"/"cicale" carries a slightly literary, old-fashioned character.
Easily confused with cicale
"Cicada" is the standard modern English name for the insect, while "cicala" (plural "cicale") is an older, Italian-derived variant of essentially the same word.