copia

Forms

copia f (plural copie, diminutive (uncommon) copiétta, augmentative copióne m, pejorative copiàccia)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cōpia (“abundance, plenty”), a learned word.^[2][3][4][1] The Latin noun is formed from co- and the stem of ops (“wealth, means”), through an adjective cōps (“well supplied”) with the suffix -ia.^[2][3][5][1] The same word is Old French copie and Spanish copia.^[3]

The sense “copy” grew out of “abundance”.^[2][3][4] DELI follows Colòri (1999): in chanceries and among notaries, to “make copy” of a document, after a Latin phrase of the same kind, was to allow someone to consult it.^[2] Nocentini instead thinks of Latin phrases meaning “to reproduce in abundance”, said of manuscript texts.^[3] Battaglia and DEI derive the noun from Medieval Latin copiāre (“to reproduce in large numbers”).^[6][7] DELI, Nocentini, GRADIT and Devoto–Oli give the two senses separate articles, in different orders.^[2][3][4][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is Brunetto Latini's Rettorica, about 1260–61, in the sense “abundance, a great quantity”.^[9] The sense “copy” follows in a Pisan document of 1264.^[9] DELI dates “abundance” from Bono Giamboni (before 1292) and “faithful transcription of an original text” from the statutes of Olivola, 1310–13.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used copia for an armed host, for the means or chance to do something, and for eloquence (copia di dire).^[9][10] To fare copia di sé was to make oneself available, and of a woman to give herself freely.^[9][8][11] Machiavelli used the plural copie for troops.^[11]

The sense “copy” widened from texts to things: an exact reproduction or a work of art copied from another artist's original (before 1455, Ghiberti), a printed specimen of a work (before 1642, Galileo) and a print of a photograph or a film (1865).^[2] The formula copia conforme, certifying that a copy matches the original, is recorded in 1796.^[2] The derivative copione, the script of a play or film, is first found in Collodi in 1881.^[2] Today the sense “abundance” is literary.^[8][10][11]

Timeline

• c. 1260–1261 – Brunetto Latini uses copia “abundance”.^[9]
• 1264 – A Pisan document has the sense “copy”.^[9]
• Before 1455 – Ghiberti uses it for a copy of a work of art.^[2]
• Before 1642 – Galileo uses it for a printed specimen of a work.^[2]
• 1796 – Copia conforme is recorded.^[2]
• 1865 – Tommaseo records the sense “photographic print”.^[2]
• 1881 – Collodi uses copione “script”.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A copy, a faithful transcription of a text: Mi serve una copia del contratto.^[4][8][10]
2. A reproduction of a work of art, sometimes a forgery: Quel quadro non è l'originale ma una copia.^[4][8][10]
3. A duplicate made mechanically or photographically, a photocopy or a photographic print: Fammi due copie di questa pagina.^[4][10][1]
4. A single printed copy of a book, newspaper or record: Il romanzo ha venduto centomila copie.^[4][10]
5. (figurative) A person who closely resembles another: Tua figlia è la copia di tua madre.^[4][8][10]
6. (literary) abundance, a great quantity: in gran copia.^[4][8][11]

Word family

• copiosità
• copioso
• copialettere
• copiare
• copiativo
• copiatrice
• copiatura
• copione
• copista
• copisteria
• scopiazzare

Related words

• opulento
• Latin cōpia
• French copie

Usage notes

Brutta copia is the first draft of a piece of writing, also figuratively a poor imitation, and bella copia the clean final version.^[4][8][11] An unrelated Old Italian copia, a kind of leather of unknown origin, is recorded in a Florentine account book of 1453.^[12]

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 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 e f 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1096
8. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3, 748