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adduttore

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word adduttore

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1681 Baldinucci's Vocabolario More words from the 17th century
Borrowed from
Latin adductor
Ultimate origin
Latin addūcō

Pronunciation

  • /ad.dutˈto.re/[1]

Forms

adduttore (feminine adduttrice, masculine plural adduttori, feminine plural adduttrici)[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Late Latin adductor (“one who brings”), formed from addūcō (“to lead to, bring”) with the agent suffix -tor.[2][3][4][5][1] It is first recorded in 1681.[2][4] The Latin verb also gave the Italian verb addurre, and the medical word belongs with French adducteur (1690).[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Baldinucci's Vocabolario of 1681, under muscolo, for a muscle that draws a part of the body towards its axis or towards the middle line of a region.[2]

Semantic evolution

Tommaseo still treated adduttore as a synonym of adducitore, “one who brings”, used by anatomists for a muscle, and recorded a botanical plural adduttori for the threads beside the antheridia of mosses.[7][8] In the 20th century it became a word of electrical engineering, a conductor that carries current into an apparatus, and of hydraulics, for a channel or pipe that carries water to where it is used.[8][4][9]

Timeline

  • 1681 – Adduttore is recorded in Baldinucci's Vocabolario for a muscle.[2]
  • 1865 – Tommaseo's dictionary records the anatomical and botanical uses.[7][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. That carries or leads towards a place: canale adduttore, condotta adduttrice, a conduit that brings drinking water to where it is used.[4][10][9]
  2. (anatomy) Of a muscle: causing adduction.[4][11][5]

Noun

  1. (anatomy) An adductor muscle: Prima della corsa allunga bene gli adduttori..[10][5][9]
  2. (electrical engineering) A conductor that carries current into an apparatus; the same as reoforo.[4][9][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it
  7. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  9. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
  10. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  11. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Adduttore.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/adduttore. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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