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attività

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word attività

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1385–1395, Francesco da Buti
Borrowed from
Latin activitas
Ultimate origin
Latin āctīvus

Pronunciation

  • /at.ti.viˈta/[1]

Forms

attività f (invariable)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin āctīvitās, a learned word, from āctīvus (“active”) with the suffix -tās.[2][3][4][5][6][1] In classical Latin the noun had only a grammatical sense, the active voice of the verb (in Probus); scholastic Latin gave it the general sense under the influence of the adjective.[2] The same loan is French activité, Old Occitan activitat, Spanish actividad, Portuguese actividade and Romanian activitate, and recent derivatives and compounds probably depend on the international technical vocabulary, especially French.[2] Wiktionary calls the word a semi-learned borrowing.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Francesco da Buti's commentary on the Inferno (Pisa, 1385–1395), in the philosophical sense “active power, capacity to act”.[7][2][8] GRADIT dates the word before 1406, Zingarelli 1395.[6][4]

Semantic evolution

The everyday sense “being active, energy in acting” is recorded from 1643, in Oudin's dictionary, and the Crusca dictionaries carried the old forms attivitate and attivitade from 1691 to 1863.[2] Phrases followed: sfera d'attività, the space in which a force is felt (1695, Salvini), and mettere in attività “to put into effect” (1796, Vincenzo Monti).[2][8]

Technical senses date from the 19th century: in chemistry the effective concentration of a solute (1865), the eruptive phase of a volcano (1875, Michele Lessona), the assets entered on a balance sheet (1884) and the assets of a firm (1893).[2][8] Benedetto Croce (1905) and Giovanni Gentile (1931) used it for what acts autonomously.[2] Economists divide occupations into attività primaria (agriculture), secondaria (industry) and terziaria (services).[4][9] Maltese borrowed the word.[1]

Timeline

  • 1385–1395 – Francesco da Buti uses attività “active power”.[7][2]
  • 1643 – Oudin records the sense “energy, being active”.[2]
  • 1695 – Salvini uses sfera d'attività.[2]
  • 1796 – Vincenzo Monti writes mettere in attività.[8][2]
  • 1865 – The chemical sense is recorded.[2]
  • 1875 – Michele Lessona uses it for a volcano's eruption.[8][2]
  • 1884 – The sense “assets in a balance sheet” is recorded.[8][2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (invariable) The quality of being active; energy, industriousness: A ottant'anni mia zia ha ancora un'attività invidiabile.[6][10][4]
  2. essere in attività: to be working; of a plant or machine, to be in operation: Il vecchio mulino è ancora in attività.[6][11][4]
  3. A set of coordinated actions aimed at a purpose, or a field of such actions: attività sportiva, attività di volontariato.[6][11][10]
  4. A job, occupation or business: Ha lasciato l'impiego in banca per aprire un'attività tutta sua.[6][12][9]
  5. (economics) An asset; the assets entered in a balance sheet as a whole.[6][11][4]
  6. (volcanology) The eruptive phase of a volcano.[6][11][4]
  7. (physics) The number of nuclear decays per unit of time in a radioactive substance; radioactivity.[6][11][4]
  8. (chemistry) The effective concentration with which a solute takes part in the equilibria of a solution.[6][11][2]

Word family

  • iperattività
  • disattività
  • attivare
  • attivismo
  • attivo
  • Latin activitas
  • French activité

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it
  3. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  10. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ 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
  12. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Attività.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/attivit%C3%A0. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·