dichiarazione

Forms

dichiarazione f (plural dichiarazioni)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian declaratione, Old Italian dechiarazione and Old Italian dichiaragione.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

According to Nocentini, GRADIT and Devoto–Oli it is borrowed from Latin dēclārātiō (“a making known, announcement”).^[5][6][7] The LEI and the TLIO see the Italian form as a new formation from the verb dichiarare, with the Latin noun behind learned early forms such as Old Italian declaratione;^[8][2][1] Devoto speaks of the Latin word influenced by the verb.^[9]

The Latin noun was formed from dēclārō (“to make clear, announce”),^[10][1] a compound of dē- and clārō (“to light up”), from clārus (“clear, bright”).^[11][5] The Italian verb was reshaped after chiaro;^[5] the LEI sees it as a possible popular continuation of the Latin verb, while the REW and DEI treat it as a learned word.^[12] The Latin noun also gave Romansh declaraziun, French déclaration (1290), Catalan declaració, Spanish declaración and Portuguese declaração.^[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in a Sienese statute of 1309–1310, and DELI's first date is before 1342 in Domenico Cavalca.^[2][11] The early senses were the act of declaring, an explanation that resolves doubts, and in law a statement or testimony with official force, or a ruling that clarifies an existing rule.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the older language the word often meant an explanation or a commentary on a text: Cavalca writes a dichiarazione della detta parola (“to explain this word”), and Francesco da Buti uses dichiaragione for Virgil's explanations to Dante.^[3] This sense is now literary.^[14][15]

The sense of a formal statement became dominant, in public life and in law: the dichiarazione di guerra, the declaration of rights, such as the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789, and the annual dichiarazione dei redditi (tax return).^[7][14][16] After the reflexive dichiararsi “to declare one's love”, first dated in Goldoni (1750), a dichiarazione d'amore is a declaration of love.^[11][6] In card games, especially bridge, the word means a bid.^[6][3]

Timeline

• 1309–1310 – The word appears in a Sienese statute.^[2]
• Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses dichiarazione for an explanation.^[11][3]
• 1385–1395 – Francesco da Buti uses the form dichiaragione.^[3][4]
• 1750 – Goldoni uses dichiararsi “to declare one's love”.^[11]
• 1987 – Dichiarazione in the sense of a bid at bridge appears in La Repubblica.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A statement or declaration, spoken or written; the document that contains it: Il ministro non ha voluto rilasciare dichiarazioni.^[6][7][15]
2. Dichiarazione d'amore, a declaration of love, fare la dichiarazione is to tell someone one loves them.^[6][17][14]
3. (law) A formal act or document attesting or establishing something: dichiarazione dei redditi (tax return), dichiarazione di fallimento (declaration of bankruptcy).^[6][7][15]
4. (diplomacy) A document in which one or more states state their position: dichiarazione di guerra.^[6][7]
5. (card games) The announcement of combinations held; in bridge, a bid.^[6][15][14]
6. (literary) An explanation or interpretation: la dichiarazione di un passo difficile.^[6][14][16]

Word family

• controdichiarazione

Related words

• dichiarare
• dichiarante
• chiaro
• Latin declaratio

Usage notes

Dichiarazione congiunta is a joint statement issued after a meeting, and dichiarazione di voto the statement of how one will vote, made before a vote in parliament.^[14][7][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e f Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
4. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
8. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it
9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 1, 565
13. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 1, 574
14. ^ a b c d e f Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
16. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
17. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli