Geppetto

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The kindly old woodcarver in Carlo Collodi's tale who carves a wooden puppet that later becomes a real boy
2. The elderly craftsman who fashions Pinocchio from a block of wood and treats the puppet like a son
3. A fictional carpenter in the story of Pinocchio, the lonely old man who builds the marionette and longs for a child

Etymology: Geppetto is the kindly old woodcarver who makes the wooden puppet in Carlo Collodi's Italian children's story "Pinocchio". The name is Italian, and English borrowed it as a proper noun for that character, which is why the word is capitalised even though it has no meaning beyond the story itself. The name is tied to the tale's central image. A woodcarver who shapes a boy from a piece of wood gives the story its premise, so the name became a shorthand for anyone who builds something lifelike from raw material. English speakers use it that way when they call a person who crafts or assembles a copy of someone or something a Geppetto.