-ata

Forms

-ata f (noun-forming suffix, plural -ate)^[1]

Etymology

It is the feminine past participle ending of the verbs in -are, from Italian -ato, used to form nouns.^[2][3][4][5] Zingarelli notes that it first appeared in abstract nouns taken from the past participles of first-conjugation verbs.^[6] The ending continues Latin -āta, the feminine of -ātus.^[7][1] The Latin suffix comes from Proto-Italic *-ātos, from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos.^[1]

The same ending is Spanish -ada, Portuguese -ada, Occitan -ada and Catalan -ada; the native French form is -ée.^[8][1] French took the southern form -ade in medieval loans from Italian, Spanish or Provençal, from about the 13th century, and it passed into English in words such as arcade and lemonade.^[9][8]

Semantic evolution

From verbs of the first conjugation -ata makes nouns for a single instance of the action: passeggiata “walk”, nevicata “snowfall”, chiacchierata “chat”, telefonata “phone call”.^[4][3][5] The suffix then spread to nouns, where it took several functions: a span of time (annata, giornata, mattinata); the quantity a thing holds (cucchiaiata “spoonful”, carrettata “cartload”); a blow struck with something (bastonata, coltellata, cannonata); a foolish or base act (buffonata, cretinata, porcata); a collective (scalinata “flight of steps”, fiaccolata “torchlight procession”); more rarely an intensive sense (ondata, fiammata).^[4][10][5] A single word may carry two of these senses at once: secchiata is both a blow with a bucket and a bucketful.^[4]

Meanings

Suffix

1. Forms feminine nouns from verbs in -are, naming one instance of the action: nuotata “a swim”, scivolata “a slip”.^[3][5][1]
2. Forms nouns from nouns naming a blow with something or an act done with a part of the body: pugnalata, manata, occhiata.^[3][5][4]
3. Forms nouns for the quantity something holds: forchettata, palata.^[4][5][1]
4. Forms nouns for a period of time: mesata, serata.^[4][5][1]
5. Forms nouns with a collective sense: balconata, cucciolata.^[3][5][4]
6. Forms nouns from words with a negative sense for a foolish or base act: mascalzonata, pagliacciata.^[5][4][1]
7. (botany) Forms feminine nouns for a plant of a class, the plural naming the class itself.^[5]

Related words

• -ato
• Latin -atus
• French -ade

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio, Il Nuovo De Mauro, online ed., dizionario.internazionale.it
6. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
10. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana