giustezza

Forms

giustezza f (plural giustezze)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian giusto + -ezza.^[2][3][4][5] DEI and the GDLI see it as an adaptation of French justesse, recorded in French in 1611, from juste (“just, exact”), and GRADIT compares the French word.^[6][7][2] Meyer-Lübke lists it with Spanish justeza and Portuguese justeza among the derivatives of Latin iūstus (“just”).^[8] giustizia, from Latin iūstitia, is its learned doublet.^[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Zingarelli dates the word to 1585 and Nocentini to the 16th or 17th century;^[9][10][2] GRADIT gives before 1642.^[9][10][2] Its first sense is exactness, as in Galileo's demand that an instrument be made con assoluta giustezza (“with absolute precision”).^[11][2]

Semantic evolution

From exactness of a measure, a weight or a balance the word passed to the soundness or aptness of reasoning and judgment; 18th- and 19th-century writers such as Salvini, Baretti and De Sanctis speak of giustezza of mind or of judgment, and in literary use it could also mean fairness or uprightness.^[7][11] Printers used it for the length of a line of type, a sense Tommaseo already records; it is measured in typographical units.^[11][2][12]

Timeline

• 1585 – First record, according to Zingarelli.^[9]
• 1611 – French justesse is recorded.^[6][2]
• Before 1642 – GRADIT's date of first record.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. accuracy, exactness, precision: la giustezza di una bilancia.^[2][4][9]
2. Soundness, aptness, correctness: Nessuno discute la giustezza della sua osservazione.^[2][3][13]
3. (printing) The width of a line of type, given in typographical units; less often the height of a page.^[2][3][12]

Related words

• giustizia
• giusto
• French justesse

Usage notes

In typography, giustezza 20 means a line twenty typographical units wide.^[12]

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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1824
7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli