coperto

Forms

coperto (feminine coperta, masculine plural coperti, feminine plural coperte)^[1]

Etymology

Used as an adjective and a noun, it is the past participle from Italian coprire (“to cover”), which continues Latin coopertus, the participle of cooperiō (“to cover over”), itself formed on operiō (“to close, cover”).^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The old and northern form was coverto.^[4][6]

The noun “place laid at table” is a calque of French couvert.^[3][4][7] DEI and Gabrielli connect the French word with the old custom of bringing the dishes of important people to table covered, to guard against poison.^[8][9] Prati notes that Italians who imitated French once said coperta (D'Alberti, 1797), while the popular word in Rome was apparecchio.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur of the last quarter of the 12th century.^[11] In Tuscan, DELI's earliest example is Guittone d'Arezzo (before 1294), with coverto in the sense “closed, sheltered, protected”: laccio mortal di bell'esca coverto, “a deadly snare covered with fair bait”.^[2][12]

Semantic evolution

By the early 14th century the participle meant clothed (Dante, 1304–1308), strewn or filled (Dante), hidden (Dino Compagni, 1310–1312) and protected or guaranteed (Bono Giamboni, before 1292).^[2] Dante's parlar coverto, veiled speech, shows the figurative sense of “dissimulated”.^[13][9]

As a noun it named a sheltered place from Boccaccio (1353), who has two lovers forced together by la necessità del poco coperto, the little shelter left; it also meant a roof, a sense now archaic or northern.^[2][12][4] The table setting is recorded in 1701, and later the fixed charge restaurants add for it, as in pane e coperto.^[2][6] Modern uses include the overcast sky and, in banking, the assegno coperto, a cheque backed by funds.^[14][4]

In music, a corda coperta (1791) is a string stopped on the fingerboard, and German took coperto (1825) for a muffled percussion instrument.^[15]

Timeline

• 1175–1200 – The Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur is the first record.^[11]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for “protected”.^[2]
• Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses coverto.^[2]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses coverto for “clothed”.^[2]
• 1353 – Boccaccio uses coperto as a noun, a sheltered place.^[2]
• 1701 – The sense “place setting at table” is recorded.^[2]
• 1791 – The musical sense is recorded.^[15]
• 1825 – German coperto is recorded in music.^[15]

Meanings

Adjective

1. covered, roofed, indoor: un mercato coperto.^[14][4][16]
2. Of a person: dressed, wrapped up against the cold: Esci ben coperto, fuori gela.^[4][16][7]
3. Covered or strewn with something (with di): un cortile coperto di foglie.^[4][16][7]
4. Of the sky or weather: overcast.^[14][4][1]
5. (figurative) Hidden, veiled, ambiguous: un rimprovero coperto.^[4][16][1]
6. (figurative) Protected, guaranteed;^[4][13][7] assegno coperto: a cheque backed by sufficient funds.^[4][13][7]

Noun

1. A sheltered place;^[14][4][13] al coperto: under cover, and figuratively safe: Quando piove giochiamo al coperto.^[14][4][13]
2. A place setting at table, the plates, glasses, cutlery and napkin for one person: Aggiungi un coperto per lo zio.^[14][4][16]
3. A cover charge, the fixed sum paid in a restaurant for the laid table.^[14][4][1]
4. (archaic, northern) A roof.^[4][13]

Word family

• copertamente
• semicoperto
• sottocoperto

Related words

• coperchio
• copertura
• coprire
• coperta
• scoperto
• French couvert

Usage notes

Coperto is also simply the past participle of coprire.^[14] Common phrases are al coperto, avere le spalle coperte “to have backing, be protected” and a cielo coperto.^[14][4] The older coverto survives in poetry and in northern usage.^[4][9]

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 Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b 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 n o p q r s Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
5. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1095
6. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
7. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1096
9. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
10. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 327
11. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
12. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
13. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
15. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
16. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse