Etymologically
Log in

entrata

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 20:44. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /enˈtra.ta/[1]

Forms

entrata f (plural entrate)[1] The archaic form is intrata.[2][3][1] Old Italian texts also have northern forms such as intrada and entrada.[4]

Etymology

It is the feminine past participle of entrare “to enter”, used as a noun (from Italian entrare + -ata).[5][6][7][3][1] Medieval Latin already had intrāta.[1] The verb continues Latin intrō (“to go in”), from intrā (“inside”).[5][8][9]

The same formation is Spanish entrada, which DEI records from the 15th century in the musical sense, and French entrée.[10][11] REW notes Venetian intrada, which passed into Croatian.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Cremonese poet Ugo di Perso, early in the 13th century.[4] DELI dates the sense “the act of entering” to Bono Giamboni, before 1292, the sense “income, revenue” to a Florentine text of 1292, and the sense “the place through which one enters” to Malispini, in the 13th century.[5][11]

Semantic evolution

Brunetto Latini used the word before 1294 for a beginning or opening, and Old Italian also used it for the introduction of a text, for taking up a public office (l'entrata dell'ufficio), and for a customs office at the entrance to a territory.[5][4] The money sense was paired with its opposite: l'entrata e l'uscita, income and expenditure.[4] In the Inferno the boatman shouts: Uscite, ci gridò: qui è l'entrata “Get out, he shouted to us, here is the entrance”.[12]

In music the word was used from the first half of the 14th century for the entry of a new voice or part.[11] DEI records it in the 16th century for an operatic introduction, and at the end of the 17th for the opening piece of an instrumental suite.[10] Entrata di favore, free or reduced admission, is recorded in Verga in 1891 and entrata di servizio “tradesmen's entrance” in Sbarbaro in 1960.[5] Modern uses include the tackle in football, the headword of a dictionary and, in computing, input.[6][7][3]

English borrowed the word rarely: entrata “entrance” is recorded in 1656, and in the money sense perhaps in 1596.[11] German had Entrata in music in 1808–1809.[11]

Timeline

  • Early 13th century – Ugo di Perso uses the word.[4]
  • 1292 – Entrata “income” in a Florentine text.[5][11]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for the act of entering.[5][6]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for a beginning.[5]
  • First half of the 14th century – The musical sense, the entry of a voice or part.[11]
  • 1656 – English entrata “entrance”.[11]
  • 1808–1809 – German Entrata in music.[11]
  • 1891 – Entrata di favore in Giovanni Verga.[5]
  • 1960 – Entrata di servizio in Camillo Sbarbaro.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An entrance, the space or opening through which one enters a place: Ci vediamo davanti all'entrata della stazione.[6][2][7][13]
  2. The entrance hall of a house.[6][14]
  3. admission to a place for a fee; the price of the ticket: L'entrata al museo è gratuita la domenica.[6][2][7]
  4. The act of entering; by extension, the start of something or the passage to a new condition: l'entrata in guerra, l'entrata in vigore di una legge.[6][7][13][3]
  5. (theatre) An actor's entrance on stage, and the first line spoken.[6][2][7]
  6. (music) The entry of a voice or instrument, or of a theme; the conductor's cue for it.[6][2][13]
  7. (chiefly plural) income, revenue, takings: Quest'anno le entrate hanno superato le spese.[6][7][3]
  8. (football) A tackle on an opponent: entrata a gamba tesa.[6][7][13]
  9. (lexicography) A dictionary entry or headword.[7][14]
  10. (computing) Input.[7][3]

Usage notes

Entrata a gamba tesa, a tackle with the leg stretched out, is also used figuratively of a heavy-handed intervention.[13] Entrata libera means free admission.[13][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  4. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  8. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1488
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  13. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  14. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli