Etymologically
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consegna

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Pronunciation

  • /konˈseɲ.ɲa/[1]

Forms

consegna f (plural consegne)[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from consegnare (“to hand over”), formed without a suffix.[2][3][4][5] The verb is borrowed from Latin cōnsignō (“to seal, authenticate”), from signō (“to mark”), a derivative of signum (“sign”), with its vowel adapted to Italian segnare and segno.[2][3][6][1] Nocentini traces the meanings from “to put a seal on” through the legal sense “to register, deposit” to the military “to pass on a written order”.[3]

The military senses “orders for a guard” and “confinement to barracks” follow French consigne, a noun of the same origin that had these meanings in the 18th century;[6][7] DEI treats the military word as a calque of the French.[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is the correspondence of the Florentine Republic with its envoys, of the 14th to 16th centuries, in the sense of the act of handing something over.[2] GRADIT, Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the noun to the 16th century, and Zingarelli to 1567.[4][3][8][9]

Semantic evolution

Florentine laws of the 16th and 17th centuries use consegna for the formal handing over of goods and animals, and for the declaration of property to an office.[10] The army gave it the sense of the orders a sentry receives (1824) and then of a light punishment that keeps a soldier in barracks (1930).[2] From the military orders the word spread to any strict instruction, as in la consegna del silenzio.[11][12]

In commerce and law it is the delivery of goods to a buyer and the transfer of possession, with many technical phrases: consegna a domicilio “home delivery”, pagamento alla consegna “cash on delivery”, consegna differita “deferred delivery”.[4][7][8] At school it is also the instructions for a written exercise.[13][1]

Timeline

  • 14th–16th century – The word appears in the letters of the Florentine Republic to its envoys.[2]
  • 1567 – Zingarelli's date for consegna.[9]
  • 1824 – Ballerini records the sense “orders for guard duty”.[2]
  • 1930 – Bruno Cicognani uses it for confinement to barracks.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. delivery, handover: the act of handing something to someone, often formally: la consegna dei diplomi.[4][8][11][1]
  2. (commerce, law) The delivery of goods to the person who bought them, or the transfer of possession of a thing: La consegna è prevista per lunedì.[4][8][9]
  3. Custody, safekeeping, in phrases such as dare in consegna and prendere in consegna: Ho lasciato le chiavi in consegna al vicino.[8][11][12]
  4. (military) The orders a soldier receives for his duties, especially guard duty; by extension, a strict instruction: Avevano la consegna di non far entrare nessuno.[4][8][12]
  5. (military) A punishment that keeps soldiers in barracks, without leave: tre giorni di consegna.[4][11][9]
  6. (nautical) A written order for the conduct of navigation or the ship's internal service.[4][9]
  7. Instructions for a task, especially a school exercise.[13][1]

Word family

  • riconsegna
  • consegnatario

Usage notes

Passare le consegne means to hand over the papers and information of an office or post to one's successor.[9][13][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1067
  7. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  11. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  13. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli