Etymologically
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aspetto

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Pronunciation

  • /asˈpɛt.to/[1]

Forms

aspetto m (plural aspetti)[1] Old forms include Old Italian espetto and Old Italian aspietto, used in Rome.[2][3]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin aspectus (“look, sight; appearance”), from aspiciō (“to look at”), from ad- and speciō (“to look”).[4][5][6][7] The LEI notes that Italian continues the Latin senses “look, sight” and “appearance”, the latter already in Cato, and the medieval astronomical sense “phase of a planet”, found in Albertus Magnus in the 13th century; French aspect has that sense from 1467.[3] DEI notes that the sense “gaze” is in Gregory the Great, about 600.[8] The same Latin word gave Spanish aspecto.[5]

The grammatical sense, the aspect of a verb, is a calque of Russian вид (vid).[5][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is Restoro d'Arezzo, 1282, and Zingarelli and Devoto–Oli give the same date.[2][10][9] DELI's first records are in Jacopone, before 1306, for “sight, gaze” and “countenance, figure”.[4] The LEI has the sense “semblance, appearance” before 1294 in Guittone d'Arezzo.[3]

Semantic evolution

In the Paradiso Dante writes “e la mia donna in lor tenea l'aspetto” (and my lady kept her gaze on them), a sense now literary.[6][11] Boccaccio has nel primo aspetto “at first sight” (1353), and a primo aspetto is recorded from 1862.[3] The TLIO's senses also include the field of view, the outward appearance of a thing, and the human countenance or face.[2]

The figurative “point of view, side of a question” is recorded in 1681 in Filippo Baldinucci, and the grammatical sense in 1882, in D. De Vivo's grammar of Russian.[4] In astrology a planet is said to be in buon aspetto when its position is favourable.[10][12]

Timeline

  • 1282 – Restoro d'Arezzo uses aspetto.[2]
  • Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses it for “appearance”.[3]
  • Before 1306 – Jacopone uses it for “sight” and “countenance”.[4]
  • 1353 – Boccaccio has nel primo aspetto “at first sight”.[3]
  • 1681 – Filippo Baldinucci uses it for “point of view”.[4]
  • 1882 – The grammatical sense appears in a Russian grammar.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The way a person or thing looks, appearance: Aveva l'aspetto di chi non dorme da giorni.[6][9][13]
  2. (figurative) aspect, side, point of view: considerare la proposta sotto ogni aspetto.[6][9][13]
  3. (literary) Sight, gaze, a primo aspetto, at first sight.[6][10][12]
  4. (astrology, astronomy) The relative position of two planets.[6][13][14]
  5. (grammar) Verbal aspect, the way a verb presents an action as lasting, beginning or completed.[6][9][13]

Word family

  • aspettuale

Usage notes

A separate noun aspetto “waiting”, formed from aspettare, is recorded from Guittone, before 1294; it survives in sala d'aspetto “waiting room”, battuta d'aspetto “bar's rest” in music and caccia all'aspetto, hunting by lying in wait.[2][6][9][8] Aspetto is also the first person singular present of aspettare (“I wait”).[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  3. ^ 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. 3, 1698
  4. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 44
  8. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 325
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  12. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  13. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana