villa

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈvɪlə/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian villa (“country house, farm”),^[2][3][4] partly also directly borrowed from Latin villa (“country house, farm”),^[5][6] related to vicus (“village, group of houses”),^[2][3] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *weik- (“clan”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A country mansion in Italy or other continental countries: 1611; of the ancient Romans, 1615.^[7][2][4]

Semantic evolution

Of residences in England it is from 1711, properly a country house of some size and architectural pretension.^[7][3] A handsome residence in the suburbs of a town is from the 18th century (1755),^[5][7] and the word came down in the world to mean any detached or semi-detached suburban house.^[3][8] A holiday home abroad is a modern British use.^[8]

Timeline

• 1611 – an Italian country house.^[7][2]
• 1615 – a Roman country house.^[7]
• 1711 – in English use.^[7]
• 1755 – a handsome suburban house.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A large country house with grounds, especially in ancient Rome.
2. A rented holiday house, especially in southern Europe.
3. (British) A detached or semi-detached house in a residential area.

Word family

• villalike
• villadom

Related words

• village
• villain
• vicinity
• villanelle

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins