altalena

Forms

altalena f (plural altalene)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *tollēna, a variant of Latin tollēnō, a counterweighted beam for drawing water and a siege engine, with the beginning changed after alto “high”.^[2][3][4][5] Treccani and Wiktionary describe it as a variant of altaleno, the Old Italian name of the siege engine, which Bono Giamboni used before 1292.^[6][1][7] GRADIT, on the contrary, derives the masculine from the feminine.^[4] Devoto saw a crossing with both ⟨alta⟩ and lena “effort, breath”, as if the word were ⟨alta-tolena⟩.^[8]

Giovanni Alessio, quoted by DELI, held that the word was popular rather than learned, because of the change of gender and the crossing with the adjective;^[3] he noted that the Latin spelling wavers between ⟨tollēnō⟩ and ⟨tolennō⟩ and suggested an Etruscan origin, with an ending ⟨-ēna⟩ as in the name Porsenna.^[3][7] The ancients associated it with tollō (“to lift”) by folk etymology.^[3][2][1] The OLD also marks the Latin word as perhaps Etruscan.^[9] Meyer-Lübke's REW has no entry for the Latin word, and DEI says the word is unknown in the rest of Romance.^[3][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are from the late 14th century: in the Fioretti di San Francesco two boys facevano all’altalena: they had laid one piece of wood across another, each sat at one end, and they went up and down, a seesaw.^[3][11] Franco Sacchetti, who died in 1400, used the phrase fare all’altalena also figuratively for living through changing fortunes.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

From the seesaw the name passed to the swing hanging from two ropes, and to the board or seat used for either game.^[11][12][13] In the 16th century Lorenzo Martelli explained the name by a pun: the game consists in levarsi alto, ed aver buona lena (in rising high and having good breath).^[11][12] Magalotti in the 17th century described monkeys swinging on a branch as gattimammoni che fanno all’altalena.^[11]

The figurative sense, an alternation of opposite states or fortunes, goes back to Sacchetti and is common today (un’altalena di speranze e delusioni).^[3][4][5] Fare l’altalena can also mean to waver from one position to another, especially in politics, or to rock on a chair.^[6] The milanese dialect kept the old sense of a beam for drawing water.^[10]

Timeline

• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses altaleno for a siege engine in his translation of Vegetius.^[7]
• Late 14th century – the Fioretti di San Francesco describe boys playing all’altalena on a seesaw; the verb altalenare is recorded in the same text.^[3]
• Before 1400 – Franco Sacchetti uses the word figuratively for alternating fortunes.^[3][7]
• 16th century – Lorenzo Martelli plays on alto and lena to explain the name.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A swing: a seat hung by ropes or chains from a support, on which a person swings back and forth.^[4][5][13]
2. A seesaw: a board balanced on a support, with a person at each end going up and down in turn.^[4][5][6]
3. (figurative) An alternation of contrasting states or situations: un’altalena di vittorie e sconfitte.^[4][14][6]

Word family

• altalenare

Related words

• altaleno
• alto
• Latin tolleno

Usage notes

In Tuscany the stressed e is close, /e/; the open /ɛ/ is regional.^[14][1] A Florentine story quoted by Tommaseo lists local names for the game: anciscocolo at Pisa, pendojo at Colle, prendifendola at Rome, balsico at Genoa and salimpendola at Naples.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
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 d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
6. ^ 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)
7. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 144
11. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 1, 348
12. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse