corridoio

Forms

corridoio m (plural corridoi)^[1] Old Italian forms include corritoio and corraor.^[2] The older corridore is now archaic or regional.^[3][4][5]

Etymology

It was formed in northern Italy from Italian correre + -toio, literally “place where one runs”, with the northern voicing of /t/ to /d/.^[6][5][4][7] Devoto–Oli, Nocentini and Sabatini–Coletti start instead from Vulgar Latin *corritorium (“running route”), made from Latin currō (“to run”).^[3][8][9][1] Devoto explains the standard form as a meeting of the Tuscan corritoio with a northern tradition that had softened ⟨-t-⟩ to ⟨-d-⟩.^[10] Venice already had Medieval Latin corretorium and corredorum for a gangway on a ship in 1255, and Parma had curetorium for a passage along the walls in the same year.^[11][6][12] Parallel formations are Catalan corredor, Spanish corredor and Portuguese corredor.^[1]

Italian lent the word to French as corridor in 1611 and, through Venetian, to Turkish as koridor.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Ierusalem of Giacomino da Verona, of the second half of the 13th century, where the word is a long, narrow passage giving access to the rooms of a dwelling.^[2] DELI's first Italian date is Matteo Villani, before 1363, for corridore, a passage along the city walls from tower to tower.^[12]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the word also named the walkway inside a fortification, from which defenders could strike the enemy, and a gallery overlooking the courtyard of a palace.^[2] Guicciardini, before 1540, writes of the corridore that runs from the Vatican palace to Castel Sant'Angelo, and DELI's first record of the form corridoio for a passage in a house is Manzoni, in 1840.^[12][5]

New senses followed modern transport and politics: the side passage of a railway carriage (1920–1928, Sbarbaro), a lane of a road (1970), and a strip of one state's territory crossing another's, first in 1914 and then for Serbia in 1923 and the corridoio polacco in 1935.^[12] The corridors of parliament gave voci di corridoio, unofficial rumours, and manovre di corridoio, backstage dealings.^[3][4][13] Sport uses the word for the side strips of a tennis court used in doubles and for an open lane through the opposing defence in football.^[6][9][4]

Timeline

• 1255 – Medieval Latin corretorium is recorded at Venice and curetorium at Parma.^[11][12]
• Second half of the 13th century – Giacomino da Verona uses the word for a passage in a house.^[2]
• Before 1363 – Matteo Villani uses corridore for a walkway on the city walls.^[12]
• 1611 – French corridor is first recorded.^[11]
• 1840 – Manzoni uses corridoio for a corridor in a house.^[12]
• 1914 – The word is used for a strip of territory crossing another state.^[12]
• 1920–1928 – Camillo Sbarbaro uses it for the passage of a railway carriage.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A corridor, hallway: a long, narrow space connecting the rooms of a building or flat: Il bagno è in fondo al corridoio, a destra.^[6][3][9][1]
2. The passage of a railway carriage onto which the compartments open; the aisle of a bus, aeroplane or theatre.^[6][3][4][1]
3. A way through, an opening: La polizia aprì un corridoio tra la gente.^[6][3][9]
4. (figurative) The lobbies of parliament or ministries, where politicians and journalists exchange news and gossip.^[3][13]
5. (nautical) Each of the decks below the main deck.^[6][9][14]
6. (politics, law) A strip of a state's territory that runs through another state: corridoio umanitario, a neutral strip for the passage of refugees or aid.^{[6][9][14][4]}
7. (aviation) corridoio aereo: an agreed air route across a foreign country or a restricted zone.^[14][13]
8. (sport) In tennis, the side strip of the court used in doubles; in football, an open lane in the opposing defence.^[6][9][4]
9. (historical) In old fortifications, a walkway behind the parapet, or along the walls between towers.^[3][14]

Related words

• corridore
• correre
• French corridor

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
5. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
8. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1123
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
14. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli