Etymology and origin of the Italian word azione
azione1 action
Etymology tree of azione1
Derived words · azione1
Pronunciation
- /atˈt͡sjo.ne/[1]
Forms
azione f (plural azioni)[1] Old forms include Old Italian accione, Old Italian açione, Old Italian atione, Old Italian actione and Old Italian assione.[2]
Etymology
The action is a learned word, borrowed from Latin actio (“a doing; legal action”), from the supine of agō (“to do, drive”).[3][4][5][1][6] The LEI notes that the Latin word was taken over as a legal term in every Romance language: French action, Catalan acció, Spanish acción, Portuguese acção and Romanian acțiune.[7] In Italian, reazione arose when reagire was laid over this word, and it was used as early as the 14th century.[7]
A popular outcome may survive in the Chiana valley dialect Italian azzo “grimace; behaviour”.[8][9] Pieri thought that lazzo “jest” came from l'azzo, a word brought in by the comedy of the 16th century.[8][9]
Earliest recorded meaning
The TLIO's first record is the Ranieri volgarizzato, a translation in the dialect of Viterbo from the first half of the 13th century.[2] DELI's first date, for “an act done by a person”, is in Brunetto Latini, before 1294.[3] In Old Italian the word meant the exercise of a power to produce effects, a single deed done of one's own will, and, in law, a suit brought in court.[2]
Semantic evolution
Old Italian also used azione for an affair or piece of business, for a speech before a court, and in azione di grazie “thanksgiving”.[2][10] The sense “subject or plot of a literary or dramatic work” is in Torquato Tasso in 1576;[3] the LEI separates from the general sense the military and sporting senses and the literary and theatrical ones.[7] DEI also records the philosophical use, Aristotle's category of acting set against being acted on, and the law of dynamics that sets action against reaction.[10]
The verb azionare “to set in motion, operate” is modelled on French actionner; in 1905 Panzini called it a common word among technicians that no dictionary recorded.[3][4] Today azione also names associations and parties, as in Azione Cattolica and the Partito d'Azione.[11][12]
Timeline
- First half of the 13th century – Azione appears in the Ranieri volgarizzato of Viterbo.[2]
- Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for an act done by a person.[3]
- Before 1306 – GRADIT's date of first record.[5]
- 14th century – Azione is used for a business affair.[10]
- 1576 – Torquato Tasso uses it for the plot of a poem or play.[3]
- 1905 – Panzini records azionare as a technicians' word.[3]
- 1950 – Interazione is formed on the model of French interaction.[4]
Meanings
Noun
- action, acting, doing, as opposed to thought: È arrivato il momento di passare all'azione.[5][13][11]
- A single act or deed, especially as judged morally: fare una buona azione.[5][11][12]
- The working or effect of a force, agent or substance: un farmaco ad azione rapida.[5][11][14]
- Activity, movement, functioning: mettere in azione una pompa.[13][11][14]
- (military) An operation, a tactical move.[5][14]
- (law) A lawsuit, the right to bring a claim before a court: azione civile.[5][2]
- The plot, the course of events in a novel, play or film, film d'azione, an action film.[11][13]
- (sport) A phase of play, a move.[14][7]
Word family
- azionare
- inazione
- interazione
- retroazione
azione2 share
Etymology tree of azione2
Derived words · azione2
Pronunciation
- /atˈt͡sjo.ne/[1]
Forms
azione f (plural azioni)[1]
Etymology
The share is borrowed from French action, which had this sense from 1669, with its derivatives actionnaire (1675) and actioniste (1730).[3][5][1] How the French word came to mean a share is not clear.[3][5] DELI suggests that it comes from the legal sense, since the holder of a share could take legal action over the company's funds, and finds borrowing from Dutch aktie chronologically difficult.[3] DEI, on the contrary, holds that the sense is of Dutch origin and came through French, where Colbert used it in 1690.[10] Nocentini explains it through French actif (“assets”), so that the word first meant a part of the assets.[4] The same French word gave Spanish acción in this sense.[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
The first record is in Lorenzo Magalotti in 1673, for a part of the capital of a trading company.[3][5] In 1750 Ferdinando Galiani still glossed the word: “shares, or as we say carati”.[3]
Semantic evolution
Azione replaced the older Italian carato in this sense.[3][10] The holder was first an azionario (1671, in a report of Venetian ambassadors), then an azionista (attionista in Gregorio Leti in 1690, azionista in 1757), and azionario became an adjective, “of shares”, recorded in 1798.[3] From the stock exchange comes the figurative use of le sue azioni for someone's standing or credit, which can rise or fall.[5]
Timeline
- 1669 – French action is recorded in the sense “share”.[3]
- 1673 – Lorenzo Magalotti uses Italian azione “share”.[3][5]
- 1690 – Gregorio Leti uses attionista.[3]
- 1750 – Ferdinando Galiani glosses azioni as carati.[3]
- 1798 – The adjective azionario appears in the acts of the Cisalpine Republic.[3]
Meanings
Noun
- (finance) A share of the capital of a company.[5][13][11]
- The certificate that represents it and makes its holder a partner: comprare azioni di una banca.[5][13]
- (figurative, plural) Someone's standing, credit: Dopo quella vittoria le sue azioni sono in rialzo.[5]
Word family
- azionista
- azionario
Related words
Usage notes
In Switzerland azione also means a special offer in a shop, a sense taken from German Aktion.[1] The phrase società per azioni (abbreviated S.p.A.) is a joint-stock company.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
- ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
- ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 1, 473
- ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
- ^ a b Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
- ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 386
- ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
- ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Azione.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/azione. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.
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