disturbo

Forms

disturbo m (plural disturbi)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian distorbo and Old Italian disturbio.^[2]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from disturbare, with no suffix.^[3][4][5][1] The verb is a learned word from Latin disturbō (“to throw into disorder, upset”), from turbō (“to disturb”) with the prefix dis-.^[3][4] Compare Medieval Latin disturbium, Spanish disturbio and Portuguese distúrbio.^[1] DEI notes that the noun passed into French, where Henri Estienne records it, and that the radio sense “interference” follows the English word disturbance.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in a Florentine translation of Andreas Capellanus from the beginning of the 14th century, in the sense “difficulty or trouble caused to someone by others”.^[2] DELI dates the sense “bother, nuisance” from Petrarch (before 1374).^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used the word for a state of disorder.^[2] The medical sense, a disorder in the working of the body or one of its parts, is recorded in 1623 in Secondo Lancellotti.^[3] Tommaseo's dictionary has prendersi un disturbo “to go to some trouble” and levare il disturbo for taking one's leave, a courteous formula still in use as togliere il disturbo.^[7][8] The technical senses, a fault in a device and interference in radio and telephone reception, belong to the 20th century.^[5][6]

Timeline

• Early 14th century – A Florentine translation of Andreas Capellanus has disturbo.^[2]
• Before 1374 – Petrarch uses disturbo “bother, nuisance”.^[3]
• 1623 – Secondo Lancellotti uses it for a disorder of the body.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. trouble, bother, inconvenience: Non voglio darti disturbo.^[5][8][1]
2. Something that hinders an activity; a disturbance: disturbo della quiete pubblica.^[5][8][9]
3. A minor ailment or disorder of the body or mind: Soffre di disturbi digestivi.^[5][10]
4. A fault in the working of a device.^[5][9]
5. (telecommunications) interference, noise that spoils reception.^[5][8][1]

Word family

• antidisturbo

Related words

• disturbare
• turbare
• Latin disturbō

Usage notes

Polite formulas include scusi il disturbo “sorry to bother you” and tolgo il disturbo “I'll be going”.^[5][8][11] The verb form disturbo? (“am I disturbing?”) is said when entering a room or joining a conversation.^[1] In military language azione di disturbo is a harassing action against the enemy.^[8][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1360
7. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana