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copia

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Pronunciation

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
  • 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