Etymologically
Log in

arte

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 21:30. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

Forms

arte f (plural arti)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin ars (“skill, craft; art”), from the accusative “artem”.[2][3][4][1] The word is found in all the Romance languages: French art, Occitan art, Catalan art, Spanish arte and Portuguese arte.[3][5][6] The Romance languages kept the Latin senses “science, profession” and “skill, trickery”;[7][5] Medieval Latin also used “ars” for a machine.[7][5]

The Latin noun is an abstract from the root Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to fit together, join”), through Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥tís: it named the ability learned by study and practice, as opposed to natural talent.[1][3] The same root is behind Latin arma (“weapons”) and Latin artus (“joint, limb”), the sources of arma and arto.[3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur of the late 12th century;[9][2][4] DELI's first date is Giacomo da Lentini (before 1250), and GRADIT's about 1274.[9][2][4] The early sense is a human activity governed by rules and based on study and experience, opposed to nature.[2][9]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian arte meant skill or method of any kind, including magic (arte magica) and trickery, a trade, and the seven liberal arts of medieval schooling.[9][10][11] From Dino Compagni (1310–1312) the word names the guilds of craftsmen and merchants, such as the Arte della Lana of Florence, which lasted until the French Revolution.[2][4] The sense of creative activity with an aesthetic value, the arts, is dated by DELI to Dante (1304–1308).[2]

The family grew with it: artista first meant a craftsman (Dante, Medieval Latin artista in Salimbene, 1281–1288), and artigiano (15th century) took over that sense.[2][7] Italian artista spread to French, Spanish and Portuguese, and artigiano to French artisan (from 1546) and then to Iberia.[7] Artistico is from 1835.[2] Phrases include a regola d'arte “to perfection”, ad arte “on purpose”, senz'arte né parte “with no skill and no means”, and the proverb impara l'arte e mettila da parte.[12][11][4]

Timeline

  • Late 12th century – Arte appears in the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur.[9]
  • Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses the word.[2]
  • 1281–1288 – Medieval Latin artista is recorded in Salimbene.[2]
  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses arte for creative, aesthetic activity.[2]
  • 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni uses it for a guild.[2]
  • Before 1484 – Artigiano is recorded.[2]
  • 1835 – Artistico is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. skill, craft: an activity based on study, experience and a set of rules, and those rules themselves: l'arte della navigazione.[4][13][14]
  2. A trade or profession: Ha imparato l'arte del falegname da suo nonno.[4][11]
  3. art: creative activity whose works are valued for their beauty, and those works as a whole: Questo museo raccoglie l'arte del Novecento.[4][15][13]
  4. The performing arts of the actor or singer: arte drammatica.[4][13]
  5. Ability, talent, and also cunning or artifice: Ha l'arte di farsi ascoltare.[4][13]
  6. (history) A guild of craftsmen or merchants, from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution.[4][13][2]

Word family

  • artista
  • artistico
  • artigiano
  • artigianale
  • artigianato
  • artiere
  • artefatto
  • artefice
  • artificio
  • artificiale
  • artificioso
  • arma
  • arto
  • Latin ars

Usage notes

Belle arti or arti figurative are painting, sculpture and architecture;[15][12][14] arti marziali are the martial arts.[15][12][14] A regola d'arte means “perfectly done”, and ad arte “deliberately”.[12][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 d 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 k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 307
  6. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  7. ^ a b c d Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 1413
  8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  10. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
  11. ^ a b c d Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  12. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  14. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  15. ^ 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