Etymologically
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fase

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Pronunciation

Forms

fase f (plural fasi)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek φάσις (phásis, “appearance of a star”), from φαίνομαι (phaínomai, “to appear”); it was first a term of astronomy for the changing appearance of the Moon, from which came the sense “stage, period”.[2][3][4][1] DEI gives French phase (1690; figurative from 1820) beside the Greek word.[5] English had phasis from 1660 and phase from 1812.[6] The Greek verb is also the source of fenomeno.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Tommaso Campailla in 1737, for each of the aspects a celestial body shows according to its position in relation to the Sun and the Earth.[2][3] He writes of “a phenomenon of phases” in bodies “that are deprived of innate light” (fenomeno di fasi in queste avviene, / che destitute son di lume innato).[6]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense, each of the successive stages of something, is recorded before 1798 in Francesco Milizia.[2] Purists resisted it: in 1855 Ugolini warned that fase was a term of astronomy and that phrases such as fasi della guerra should give way to native words, and Tommaseo called the use overworked.[2][7]

Technical senses followed: in electricity in 1889, for the lag or lead of an alternating current, in chemistry in 1920, for a homogeneous state of a substance, and in engines in 1925 (fase di scoppio).[2] The verb sfasare (1935) and the instrument name fasometro (1900) are derived from it.[2][3] The figurative essere fuori fase “to be out of sorts” comes from the engine that is badly tuned.[8][9]

Timeline

  • 1737 – Tommaso Campailla uses fase in astronomy.[2]
  • Before 1798 – Francesco Milizia uses the sense “stage”.[2]
  • 1855 – Ugolini objects to the figurative use.[2]
  • 1889 – The electrical sense is recorded.[2]
  • 1920 – The chemical sense is recorded.[2]
  • 1925 – Fase di scoppio appears for an engine.[2]
  • 1935 – Sfasare is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (astronomy) Each of the aspects of the Moon or a planet according to the part lit by the Sun that is visible from the Earth: le fasi lunari.[4][8][9]
  2. A stage or period that differs from the one before: Il paese attraversa una fase di forte crescita.[4][8][10]
  3. Each stage of a sports competition: la fase eliminatoria.[4][9]
  4. (science, technology) Each of the intervals in a natural process or in the working of an engine: la fase di compressione.[4][10][11]
  5. (physics) The angle that determines the position of a periodic quantity in its cycle; also each circuit of a polyphase system.[4][9][12]
  6. (chemistry) A physically homogeneous part of a heterogeneous system: la fase liquida.[4][8]
  7. (psychoanalysis) Each stage in the development of the libido.[12][11]

Word family

  • sfasare
  • sfasamento
  • fasometro
  • controfase
  • fasico
  • sottofase
  • fenomeno

Usage notes

In fase di means “in the course of”: un ponte in fase di costruzione.[9] Essere fuori fase is said of a person who feels tired or out of sorts.[8][9][12] Old Italian had a separate masculine fase, the Jewish Passover and its lamb, a learned word from Biblical Hebrew פסח (pesaḥ), first recorded in a Sicilian text of 1373.[13][5][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1603
  6. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5, 703
  7. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  12. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  13. ^ Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it