Etymologically
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aperto

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Pronunciation

  • /aˈpɛr.to/[1]

Forms

aperto (feminine aperta, masculine plural aperti, feminine plural aperte, superlative apertissimo)[1] Old forms include Old Italian aprito, formed on the verb aprire, and northern Old Italian averto and Old Italian operto.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin apertus (“open; uncovered”), the past participle of aperiō (“to open”).[3][4][1][5] The Latin verb survives in Spanish abrir, Portuguese abrir and Friulian avrî, while French ouvrir, Occitan obrir and Catalan obrir continue a form Vulgar Latin *operīre, remade under the influence of cooperiō (“to cover”).[6] The Latin neuter used as a noun, apertum (“open space”), lives on in Spanish and Italian.[7]

De Vaan explains aperiō as Proto-Italic *ap-wer-je-, with the prefix “off” and Proto-Indo-European *h₂wer- (“to cover”), and the antonym operiō (“to cover”) is formed the same way with another prefix.[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Istoria of Pseudo-Uguccione, a Lombard text of the first half of the 13th century, for something that lets one pass because it is not shut.[2] DELI's earliest sense is “plain, explicit”, in Brunetto Latini before 1294, and “not closed” follows in the form aprito in Iacopone before 1306 and as aperto in Dante before 1321.[3]

Semantic evolution

The sense “frank, candid” is recorded before 1388, in Antonio Pucci, and the phonetic vocale aperta “open vowel” before 1589, in Lionardo Salviati.[3] The TLIO already has the open sea, a city or person exposed to attack, and the phrase tenere gli occhi aperti “to keep one's eyes open”.[2]

As a noun, Old Lombard averto meant a square before 1274.[7] Italian aperto is “the open sea” in Tasso (1581) and “an open space” in Redi (1698), and all'aperto “in the open air” has been used since Annibal Caro (1566).[7] Recent senses include an open question or contest and the coppia aperta, an open marriage.[10][11] In the dialects of the Veneto aperta means “spring”.[12]

Timeline

  • First half of the 13th century – Pseudo-Uguccione's Istoria has the first record.[2]
  • Before 1274 – Old Lombard averto “square” is recorded.[7]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses aperto “plain, explicit”.[3]
  • Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses the form aprito.[3]
  • Before 1388 – Antonio Pucci uses aperto “frank”.[3]
  • 1566 – All'aperto is recorded in Annibal Caro.[7]
  • Before 1589 – Lionardo Salviati uses vocale aperta.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. open, not closed or shut: Ho lasciato la finestra aperta tutta la notte.[13][14][15]
  2. Open to the public, in service, or open to anyone who wants to take part: La farmacia è aperta anche di domenica.[10][13][14]
  3. Wide, unobstructed: aperta campagna, open country, mare aperto, the open sea.[10][15][11]
  4. (figurative) Not settled, unresolved, of uncertain outcome: Il campionato è ancora aperto.[10][13][15]
  5. (figurative) Frank, candid, outgoing: Ha un carattere aperto e allegro.[10][14][11]
  6. Manifest, declared: guerra aperta.[10][15]
  7. (figurative) open-minded, receptive to new ideas.[10][14][15]
  8. (phonetics) Of a vowel, articulated with the mouth more open, or of a syllable, ending in a vowel.[14][15][16]

Noun

  1. An open place, the open air, mostly in all’aperto: Stasera ceniamo all’aperto.[17][7][1]

Word family

  • apertura
  • apertamente
  • all'aperto

Usage notes

Fixed phrases include a bocca aperta “open-mouthed (with amazement)”, a braccia aperte “with open arms”, sognare a occhi aperti “to daydream”, lettera aperta “open letter” and città aperta “open city”.[15][11][16] The vowel is open: /aˈpɛr.to/.[1][16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 2, 1716
  7. ^ a b c d e f Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 2, 1746
  8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  10. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  11. ^ a b c d Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  12. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 238
  13. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  14. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  15. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  16. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  17. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET