ambulanza

Forms

ambulanza f (plural ambulanze)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French ambulance, recorded in French from 1752 and in its military sense from 1792.^[2][3][4][5] The French noun is formed on ambulant (“itinerant, moving”), from Latin ambulō (“to walk, go about”).^[2][3][6] The GDLI and Gabrielli analyse the Italian word as a derivative of ambulante on the French model.^[7][8]

At first it was a military word: Bernardoni in 1812 defined it as a field hospital that follows the army.^[2][9] Prati notes the earlier phrase hôpital ambulant (1762).^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, in Bernardoni's 1812 list of words, defines ambulanza as a mobile hospital that travels with the army.^[2][9] In 1833 Grassi's military dictionary distinguished permanent hospitals, war hospitals, ospedali ambulanti (French ambulances) set up on the battlefield itself for first aid, and “flying” hospitals between them.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 19th century the purist Ugolini noted the word as new and argued that it could not be replaced by infermeria, since an ambulanza carried the wounded.^[7] From the medical unit the name passed to the cart that carried the wounded and then to the motor vehicle;^[7] D'Azeglio already describes ambulances among retreating troops.^[7] Today the vehicle is the main sense, also called autoambulanza, while the field hospital is a historical or military term.^[4][6][10] The old sense “outpatient clinic” has given way to ambulatorio.^[4][6]

Timeline

• 1752 – French ambulance is recorded.^[2]
• 1792 – The French word takes on its military sense.^[2][4]
• 1812 – Bernardoni records ambulanza, a field hospital.^[2][9]
• 1828 – Leone's dictionary also has it.^[9]
• 1833 – Grassi's military dictionary describes the ospedali ambulanti.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. An ambulance, a vehicle equipped to carry the sick or injured and give first aid: L'ambulanza è arrivata dopo dieci minuti.^{[4][6][10][1]}
2. (military) A mobile medical unit that follows an army or helps civilians after a disaster; a field hospital.^{[4][10][11][1]}
3. (dated) An outpatient clinic, an ambulatorio.^[4][6][12]

Related words

• ambulante
• ambulatorio
• autoambulanza
• French ambulance
• Latin ambulo

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 158
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
9. ^ a b c d e Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
10. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli