Etymologically
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differenza

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Pronunciation

  • /dif.feˈrɛn.t͡sa/[1]

Forms

differenza f (plural differenze)[1] The old form differenzia was common; the TLIO also records diferensa, diferenza and deferenza.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin differentia (“difference”).[5][6][7][8][9] The Latin noun is formed on differēns (“different”), the present participle of differō (“to carry apart; to differ”), which joins dis- (“apart”) and ferō (“to carry”).[10][11][12] Cicero used it to render Ancient Greek διαφορά (diaphorá), built the same way.[8][13]

The word belongs with differire and differente.[6][7] The same Latin noun gave French différence, recorded in the 12th century, and Spanish diferencia.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur super natura feminarum of the late 12th century.[4] DELI dates the word to Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294, in the sense of what distinguishes two or more people or things.[5][6] Guittone writes molto è gran diferensa between the knights of the world and his own.[14]

Semantic evolution

In Dante's Convivio the senses perceive la differenza de le cose by their colours.[14] The TLIO records Old Italian a differenza di “unlike”, senza differenza “in the same way” and fare differenza, as well as the sense “dispute, quarrel”.[4] DEI dates the legal sense “controversy” to the 14th century; today it is literary.[8][15]

In logic, after Aristotle, the differenza specifica is the quality that sets a species apart within its genus.[11][15] The arithmetical sense, the result of a subtraction, is in Galileo in 1606.[5] Maria Gaetana Agnesi used differenziale in mathematics in 1748.[8] The recent fare la differenza “to be the decisive factor” is a calque of English make the difference.[11][16]

Timeline

  • Late 12th century – The Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur have the word.[4]
  • Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses diferensa.[5][14]
  • 14th century – The sense “dispute” is recorded.[8]
  • 1606 – Galileo uses it for the result of a subtraction.[5]
  • 1748 – Maria Gaetana Agnesi uses differenziale.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. difference, the fact of being different; what makes two or more people or things unlike: Tra i due fratelli c'è una differenza di cinque anni.[7][15][10]
  2. (mathematics) The result of a subtraction: La differenza tra nove e quattro è cinque.[7][15][10]
  3. (science) The gap between the values of a quantity: differenza di potenziale.[10][7]
  4. The sum still needed to complete a payment; in accounting, a balance or shortfall.[7][10]
  5. (literary) A dispute, quarrel.[7][15][10]
  6. (philosophy) In differenza specifica, the quality that distinguishes a species within its genus.[15][11]

Word family

  • differenziale
  • differenziare
  • indifferenza
  • differenziazione

Usage notes

Common phrases are a differenza di “unlike”, non fa differenza “it makes no difference”, fare differenze “to treat people unequally”, fare la differenza “to be decisive” and, in football, differenza reti “goal difference”.[16][15][11]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  3. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  4. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1296
  9. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it
  10. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  13. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 140
  14. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 4, 387
  15. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  16. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli