Etymologically
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guida

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Pronunciation

Forms

guida f (plural guide)[1]

Etymology

It is a noun formed from guidare, perhaps from its imperative.[2][3][4][5][6] The verb is of Germanic origin: DELI derives it from Proto-Germanic *witaną (“to direct”), probably through Gothic *widan, and Nocentini and GRADIT take it from that Gothic verb.[2][3][4] Prati and Meyer-Lübke start instead from a Gothic noun *wida (“guide of a stranger”), and Meyer-Lübke found the vowel /i/ hard to explain.[7][8] Wiktionary takes the verb from Old Occitan guidar, from Frankish *witan.[1] Medieval Latin wida is recorded at Sacile in the 13th century.[2][5]

DEI and Meyer-Lübke note that Old French guie, from guier (“to guide”), passed into Old Occitan guiza, Catalan guia, Spanish guía and Portuguese guia, while French guide was taken from Italian.[5][8] DIFIT dates the French word to 1370 and leaves open whether it came from Old Occitan or from Italian.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word to about 1274, in the sense of direction or guidance.[4] DELI's first records are both in Dante: the person who shows the way (1300–1313), as when Virgil tells Dante “ed io sarò tua guida” (and I shall be your guide) in the first canto of the Inferno, and the act of guiding (1313–1319).[2][10][9]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century Giovanni dalle Celle uses the word for whatever guides, in a figurative sense too.[2] In 1665 Sforza Pallavicino applies it to a book that teaches the first elements of an art, and before 1810 Luigi Lanzi to a guidebook for travellers; from the person who shows the way came the professional who shows tourists round.[2] Technical senses followed: a device that keeps a moving part in its track (before 1502) and, in the plural, the rails (1846).[9][2]

With the motor car the word came to mean the controls of a vehicle and driving itself (1939–1940, Palazzi), and guida a sinistra (left-hand drive) passed into political language in 1955.[2] In the old armies the guide were sergeants in charge of a squad and, in the 18th century, a corps that escorted the general staff; today a guida is also a girl scout.[4] German took Guida in 1732 as a term of the fugue, a synonym of the antecedent.[9]

Timeline

  • About 1274 – Guida is recorded in the sense “guidance”.[4]
  • 13th century – Wida appears in Medieval Latin at Sacile.[2]
  • 1300–1313 – Dante uses guida for one who shows the way.[2][9]
  • 1370 – French guide is recorded.[9]
  • Before 1502 – The word is used for a mechanical guide.[9]
  • 1665 – Sforza Pallavicino uses it for a handbook.[2]
  • 1732 – German Guida is recorded as a musical term.[9]
  • Before 1810 – Luigi Lanzi uses it for a guidebook.[2]
  • 1846 – The plural guide means “rails”.[9]
  • 1939–1940 – Palazzi records the sense “driving; controls of a vehicle”.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. driving, the driving of a vehicle; a way of driving: Ha una guida molto prudente.[4][11][12]
  2. Leadership, direction of a country, company or party: È alla guida dell'azienda da vent'anni.[4][13][11]
  3. Guidance, teaching, advice: Ha studiato sotto la guida di un grande maestro.[4][13]
  4. What shows the way; a point of reference, a model; after a noun as an invariable adjective, “leading”, as in idea guida.[4][14][11]
  5. A guide, a person who leads others or shows tourists round, as in guida turistica and guida alpina.[4][11][14]
  6. A girl scout, a Girl Guide.[4]
  7. A guidebook; a handbook or manual: Abbiamo comprato una guida di Napoli.[4][11][12]
  8. (technical) A device, rail or slot that keeps a moving part in place.[11][1]
  9. A long narrow carpet laid on stairs or along a corridor, a runner.[11]
  10. (historical) In the old armies, a sergeant in charge of a squad; a corps escorting the general staff.[4]

Word family

  • guidone
  • French guide

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1891
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 541
  8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  14. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana