armatura

Forms

armatura f (plural armature)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin armātūra (“equipment, armour”), formed on armō (“to arm”) with the suffix -tūra.^{[2][3][4][1][5]} DEI calls it a Romance word of popular development in the sense of armour, and the LEI treats it as inherited;^[6][7][2][4] Nocentini and GRADIT present it as taken from Latin.^[6][7][2][4] The old form armadura shows the voicing of /t/ between vowels.^[7][8]

The word continues in Friulian armadure, Romansh armadüra, Old French armeüre (whence modern French armure), Old Occitan armadura, Catalan armadura, Spanish armadura, Portuguese armadura and Sardinian armadura.^[7][9] The Romanian word armătură came by way of Polish, according to Meyer-Lübke.^[9]

In Caesar the Latin word meant the set of arms of a soldier.^[7] The sense “beam, framework” goes back to Medieval Latin armatura of the 7th century, in the Lombard laws, and the anatomical sense “protective membrane” to Albertus Magnus.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Uguccione da Lodi, from Cremona at the beginning of the 13th century, in the form armadhura.^[10][7] DELI first has the Tuscan armatura at the end of the 13th century in the Fatti di Cesare, for the defensive equipment of a fighter, made to fit the body without hampering it.^[11]

Semantic evolution

In the 13th and 14th centuries the word also meant a weapon or war machine, the armament of a ship, the craft of making arms and a body of armed men.^[6][10] The Fatti di Cesare describe un'armatura d'un maraviglioso sciamito, armour of a wonderful samite lined with white ermine.^[12] In the 16th and 17th centuries armatura leggera and grave were light and heavy troops.^[6]

Benvenuto Cellini (before 1571) used it for the temporary support of masonry under construction, and Daniello Bartoli (before 1685) for the outer defences of animals and plants.^[11] Modern technical senses followed: the steel in reinforced concrete, the plates of a capacitor, the sheath of a cable, the weave of a fabric and, in music, the key signature.^[4][13][14] German Armatur (1511) may come from Italian or straight from Latin.^[15]

Timeline

• Early 13th century – Uguccione da Lodi uses armadhura.^[10]
• Late 13th century – The Fatti di Cesare use armatura for armour.^[11]
• 1511 – German Armatur is first recorded.^[15]
• Before 1571 – Benvenuto Cellini uses it for a support of masonry.^[11]
• Before 1685 – Daniello Bartoli uses it for the defences of animals and plants.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A suit of armour, the defensive arms worn by warriors of the past: Nel museo è esposta l'armatura di un cavaliere.^[4][13][3]
2. (historical) A war machine that sheltered soldiers attacking an enemy position.^[4][13]
3. The protective outer covering of an animal or plant: l'armatura dell'aragosta.^[4][3][16]
4. (figurative) A defence, a protection.^[4]
5. (building) A temporary or permanent framework supporting masonry, vaults, tunnels or excavations; also the steel reinforcement in reinforced concrete (cemento armato).^[4][13][14]
6. (electricity) Each of the two plates of a capacitor; the armature of a magnet or machine; the protective sheath of a cable.^[4][13][14]
7. (textiles) The weave, the way warp and weft are interlaced.^[4][3][16]
8. (music) Armatura di chiave: the key signature.^[16][13][14]

Related words

• armare
• arma
• armatore
• Latin armātūra
• French armure

Usage notes

Armadura is an old and literary variant.^[12][17]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 292
7. ^ a b c d e f g Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 1272
8. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
11. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
13. ^ a b c d e f 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 Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
16. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
17. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET