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isolato

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word isolato

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1550, Giorgio Vasari
Ultimate origin
Latin īnsula
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Italian isola
Italian isolato

Pronunciation

  • /i.zoˈla.to/[1]

Forms

isolato (feminine isolata, masculine plural isolati, feminine plural isolate, superlative isolatissimo)[1]

Etymology

The adjective is the past participle of isolare “to isolate”, a verb formed on isola “island” and recorded before 1597.[2][3][4][5] The noun meaning “city block” is formed from Italian isola + -ato, with the base word in the sense of Latin īnsula (“island; block of buildings”), a block of houses standing apart.[6][7][8] Wiktionary takes both from īnsulātus (“made into an island”).[1][9]

The adjective was borrowed as French isolé, used of a place from 1636 and of a lonely person from 1694, and through French into English as isolated.[10][1] English also borrowed isolato in 1851 for an isolated, excluded person.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record of the adjective is Giorgio Vasari in 1550, in the sense “standing apart, secluded”.[2][10] Vasari writes that a tomb was placed in a chapel with rich ornament and “tutta isolata”, standing free on every side.[11][12]

Semantic evolution

The noun “block of buildings surrounded by streets” is recorded before 1600 in Bernardo Davanzati, whose Tacitus tells how Tiberius paid for the houses and isolati burnt on the Aventine.[2][12] The old sense “island” or “full of islands” is rare and obsolete.[13][12][7]

The adjective spread from buildings to people: a solitary person is recorded in 1618, and a fact taken apart from its context before 1774.[10] Alessandro Volta used it in electrical science, for a body cut off from the passage of current.[12] Modern senses include an isolated case, a village cut off by snow, and in cycling a rider who belongs to no team.[6][4][14]

Timeline

  • 1550 – Vasari uses isolato of a free-standing monument.[2][10]
  • Before 1597 – The verb isolare is recorded in Soderini.[2]
  • Before 1600 – Davanzati uses isolato for a block of houses.[2][6]
  • 1618 – It is used of a solitary person.[10]
  • 1636 – French isolé is used of a place.[10]
  • 1851 – English isolato is recorded.[10]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. isolated, cut off or separated from the rest: Dopo la frana il paese è rimasto isolato per tre giorni.[6][4][14]
  2. Remote, solitary, little frequented: una baita isolata in montagna.[6][4][5]
  3. Single, not followed or accompanied by others: un episodio isolato.[6][4][5]
  4. Living apart from others, without human contacts.[6][4][5]
  5. (physics) insulated thermally, acoustically or electrically; of a system, not exchanging energy with its surroundings.[6][4][14]
  6. (cycling) Of a rider, not belonging to a team.[6][5][14]

Noun

  1. A city block, a building or group of buildings surrounded by streets: La farmacia è a due isolati dalla stazione.[6][5][14]
  2. A person who lives apart from the community, or who is excluded from it.[6][5][14]
  3. (cycling) A rider who races without a team.[15][14]

Word family

  • isolatamente
  • isolare
  • isolatore
  • isolazione
  • isola
  • isolamento
  • isolano
  • Latin insula
  • French isolé

Usage notes

The Italian Wiktionary also notes a heraldic use, for land or walls that do not touch the edges of the shield.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  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 Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2117
  9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 8, 581
  12. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 8, 582
  14. ^ a b c d e f g Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  16. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
Cite this entry

“Isolato.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/isolato. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·