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isolare

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word isolare

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1597 before 1597, Giovanvettorio Soderini More words from the 16th century
Ultimate origin
Latin *isula,-are
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Italian isola
Italian isolare
From the same root
Italian isolato ← isola

Pronunciation

  • /i.zoˈla.re/[1]

Forms

isolare (first-person singular present ìsolo, first-person singular past historic isolài, past participle isolàto, auxiliary avére)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian isola (“island”) + -are, making “to make like an island”.[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary also compares Latin īnsulātus (“made into an island”).[1] isola is īnsula (“island”), of uncertain origin.[3]

DELI notes that many senses of the verb and its family reflect French usage, with French s'isoler recorded from 1697.[3] DEI takes the verb, which it dates only from the 19th century, from French isoler, itself drawn from isolé, which goes back to Italian isolato.[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Giovanvettorio Soderini, who died in 1597, in the sense “to separate something from what surrounds it”.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to keep someone apart from others” is recorded in 1834 in Carlo Botta, and purists rejected it in 1831 and 1848.[3] The pronominal isolarsi, “to withdraw into solitude”, appears in 1863 and in Mazzini, who died in 1872.[3] In 19th-century physics the verb meant to place a body so that its vibrations or electrical charges are not passed on, and Tommaseo's dictionary treated the figurative use as a Gallicism.[8] In chemistry, “to obtain a substance pure by separation” is recorded from 1957.[3]

Timeline

  • Before 1597 – Giovanvettorio Soderini uses isolare.[3][2]
  • 1834 – Carlo Botta uses it for keeping a person apart.[3]
  • 1863 – Isolarsi “to withdraw into solitude” is recorded.[3]
  • 1957 – The chemical sense is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To isolate, separate something from what surrounds it or is in contact with it, often to make it inaccessible: isolare l'area dell'incidente.[2][4][9]
  2. To keep a person apart from others, for safety or punishment: isolare un paziente.[2][4]
  3. (figurative) To cut a person off from friendships and relations, or a state from political and economic ties with others.[2][4][9]
  4. To disconnect a telephone or other line from the network.[2][10]
  5. To insulate against electricity, heat or sound: isolare le pareti.[2][10][11]
  6. (chemistry) To obtain a substance pure by separating it from others.[3][9] (biology) To identify a pathogen.[3][2][9]
  7. To consider a fact or a word apart from its context.[10][9][11]
  8. (pronominal) isolarsi: to withdraw from others, live apart: si isola nello studio.[3][9][12]

Word family

  • isolamento
  • isolato
  • isolante
  • isolatore
  • isolabile
  • isolazionismo

Usage notes

DEI records a separate old veterinary isolare, “to remove the sole of the hoof”, of the 14th century.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2116
  7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2117
  8. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  13. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1344
Cite this entry

“Isolare.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/isolare. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·