Etymologically
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battuta

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Pronunciation

  • /batˈtu.ta/[1]

Forms

battuta f (plural battute)[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian battere + -uta, the feminine of battuto, the past participle of battere (“to beat”), used as a noun.[2][3][4][1][5] The verb continues Latin battuō (“to beat”), in its variant battere, which lives on in all the Romance languages.[6]

DEI thinks that the hunting sense, a drive with beaters, is probably a calque of French battue (15th century), added to the native meanings of the word.[5] The word went into French batoude (1879), a springboard used in the circus, and through French into Russian батут (batut, “trampoline”).[7][1] As a term of music it was taken into French (1703), German (1732) and English (1819).[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is Francesco da Barberino's Reggimenti (1318–1320), where battute are the beats of the heart.[8] DELI's earliest dated sense is the musical bar, in Giovanni Maria Lanfranco's treatise of 1533, and GRADIT gives 1533 as the first date of the word.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

Annibal Caro (before 1566) uses it for blows given on the surface of a body, and Marino for the strokes of hammers on an anvil, whose rhythm suggested music.[4][9] The battuta d'aspetto, a bar in which a voice is silent, is recorded in 1865, and Panzini (1918) used it figuratively for a pause before acting; the battuta d'arresto “setback” is in Zingarelli from 1970.[4]

In the theatre it became each line an actor speaks (1890), and, from there a witty, biting remark (1955).[4][9] Typewriters gave the sense of a keystroke and the space of one character (1955).[4] The hunt with beaters was extended to a police sweep for criminals, and sport added the serve in tennis and volleyball, the batting in baseball and the take-off in jumping.[2][10]

Timeline

  • 1318–1320 – Francesco da Barberino uses it for heartbeats.[8]
  • 1533 – Giovanni Maria Lanfranco uses it for a musical bar.[4][7]
  • Before 1566 – Annibal Caro uses it for blows.[4]
  • 1703 – French battuta is recorded as a term of music.[7]
  • 1819 – English battuta is recorded.[7]
  • 1865 – Battuta d'aspetto is recorded.[4]
  • 1890 – Battuta is recorded for an actor's line.[4]
  • 1955 – The senses “witty remark” and “keystroke” are recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A beating, a blow; also the mark it leaves: Ha ancora il segno della battuta sul braccio.[2][10][11]
  2. (music) A bar, the unit of time between two bar lines: Il coro entra dopo otto battute.[2][12][11]
  3. (theatre) Each line spoken by an actor: L'attore si è dimenticato la battuta.[2][10][11]
  4. A quip, a witty or cutting remark: Ha sempre la battuta pronta.[2][11][13]
  5. (hunting) A drive in which beaters and dogs rouse the game: una battuta al cinghiale.[2][10]
  6. A police operation to search an area for criminals.[2][10][1]
  7. (sports) The serve in tennis, volleyball and similar games; in baseball, batting.[2][1]
  8. A keystroke on a typewriter or keyboard, and the space of one character: un articolo di tremila battute.[10][11][4]

Word family

  • battutista
  • controbattuta

Usage notes

A battuta d'arresto is a setback or halt, alle prime battute means “at the very beginning”, and avere la battuta pronta is to be quick with a retort.[2][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ 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 l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 467
  6. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 5, 344
  7. ^ a b c d e Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  8. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  9. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  10. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  13. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana