Etymologically
Log in

arrivo

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Italian word arrivo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1566, Lionardo Salviati
Ultimate origin
Latin rīpa

Pronunciation

Forms

arrivo m (plural arrivi)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from the verb arrivare, as a noun without a suffix.[2][3][4][5] The verb, recorded about 1300, comes from Vulgar Latin *arripāre (“to reach the shore”), built from Latin rīpa (“bank, shore”) with the prefix ad-; Medieval Latin adrīpāre is recorded from 822.[2][3][6] The same verb is French arriver, Occitan arribar and Catalan arribar “to arrive”, and Spanish arribar and Portuguese arribar “to put into port”.[3][6] Latin rīpa goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁reip-h₂- (“steep slope”).[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Lionardo Salviati's comedy Il granchio (1566): “Tosto avrete lettere dell'arrivo di Fortunio” (you will soon have letters about Fortunio's arrival).[2][8] Before that the infinitive arrivare served as the noun, in Machiavelli (1525) and Luigi Alamanni.[6]

Semantic evolution

Tommaseo explained that the word properly meant reaching one's destination, as a boat reaches the shore, and noted the wish felice arrivo and the listing of the arrivals and departures of boats and people.[9] Writers from Sarpi and Magalotti to Metastasio and Deledda use it for the coming of people and of trains.[8]

Modern senses include the arrivals side of stations and airports, the goods newly delivered to a shop, and in sport the finishing line and the final stage of a race.[4][10][11] The phrase in arrivo means “about to arrive”.[11][12]

Timeline

  • About 1300 – The verb arrivare is first recorded.[2]
  • 1525 – Machiavelli uses the infinitive arrivare as a noun for “arrival”.[6]
  • 1566 – Lionardo Salviati uses arrivo.[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. arrival, the act of arriving: L'arrivo dei nonni ha messo tutti di buon umore.[4][10][11]
  2. The time or place of arrival: Ti chiamo appena dopo l'arrivo, in arrivo: about to arrive.[4][10][12]
  3. In the plural, the arrivals area of a station or airport, and the board listing the arrival times.[4][10][11]
  4. In the plural, goods that have just reached a shop: Guarda gli ultimi arrivi in vetrina.[4][10][5]
  5. A newcomer to a group or workplace.[4]
  6. (sport) The finish line; the final stage of a race: arrivo in volata.[4][11][12]
  7. (gymnastics) The landing at the end of an exercise.[4][11][12]

Usage notes

Tommaseo also records arrivo as a rustic shortened past participle of arrivare, for arrivato.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 1387
  7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 1, 692
  9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
Cite this entry

“Arrivo.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/arrivo. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·