uncino

Uncino is an Italian noun meaning a small hook or a curved projection that can be used to grasp, hang, or catch objects. In general usage it refers to a hook-shaped piece, often smaller or more slender than a larger “gancio.” The term can appear in descriptions of hardware, tools, or fittings where a curved form serves to secure or hold something.

Etymology traces uncino to Latin uncus or uncinus, meaning a hook, with the form passing into Old Italian and then modern Italian. The word is part of a family of Romance-language terms related to hook-like shapes, and it is typically contrasted with gancio, which is the more common word for a wide range of hooks.

In contemporary Italian, uncino tends to be used when a small or distinctively curved hook is being described, rather than for generic hooks. It may appear in technical, design, or craft contexts, and can be encountered in dictionaries as well as specialized literature. Outside of Italian, uncino is rarely used; when encountered, it is usually within discussions of Italian terminology or as a loanword in technical translations. The term does not denote a single famous object or concept, but rather a generic shape and its modest-sized implementations.