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lava

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word lava

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1663 Magalotti More words from the 17th century
Borrowed from
Neapolitan lava
Ultimate origin
Latin lābor
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Italian lava
English lava
Spanish lava

Pronunciation

Forms

lava f (plural lave)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Neapolitan lava (“torrent of rainwater”), whose main sense was a stream of rainwater rushing down the streets;[2][3][1] Sicilian has the related lavina (“brook”) and lavinaru (“large channel; torrent”).[2][3][1] The Neapolitan word is generally traced to Latin lābēs (“a fall, collapse”), from lābor (“to slip, fall”).[2][3][4][1] Wiktionary calls this derivation likely, and Treccani only says the word is perhaps akin to Latin ⟨lābī⟩ (to slip).[1][5] Etymonline mentions the traditional derivation from lavō (“to wash”), with ⟨lābēs⟩ as the alternative.[6]

The word became international: French lave (as ⟨laive⟩ from 1587), Spanish lava, English lava (1750) and German Lava (about 1760) all come from Italian.[3][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In a 14th-century Neapolitan Destructione de Troya the word, as lave, means a great mass of flowing liquid.[9][7] The volcanic sense is first recorded in 1663 in Magalotti; in 1733 Bottari explains it as the bitume infuocato che gli uomini di quella contrada chiamano lava, the burning pitch the people of that district (round Monte Somma) call lava.[2]

Semantic evolution

Lava was at first a Neapolitan flood of water after heavy rain, and the name was then applied to the streams of molten rock from Vesuvius.[2][6] The sense of a volcanic flow prevailed over that of a landslide or rush of water, still recorded in 1811, and Targioni Tozzetti used both.[2] Spallanzani, before 1799, already applied it to solidified lava rock.[2]

The adjective lavico (1905) follows French lavique.[2][3] The old sense “a mass of water or mud rushing down a torrent bed” survives regionally.[4][5]

Timeline

  • 14th century – A Neapolitan text uses lave for a flowing mass of liquid.[9]
  • 1587 – French laive is recorded.[7]
  • 1663 – Magalotti uses the word for volcanic lava.[2][4]
  • 1733 – Bottari explains the word as local usage round Monte Somma.[2]
  • 1750 – English lava is first recorded.[7][6]
  • Before 1799 – Spallanzani uses it for solidified lava.[2]
  • 1905 – The adjective lavico is recorded.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. lava: molten magma poured out by a volcano: Una colata di lava ha raggiunto la strada.[4][10][11]
  2. The rock formed by solidified lava.[4][11][5]
  3. (regional, dated) A mass of water or mud rushing down a torrent bed.[4][5][12]

Word family

  • lavico

Usage notes

Lava is also a form of the verb lavare (“he washes”).[13] Treccani lists lava del Vesuvio, a dull grey-green stone used for cameos.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2185
  9. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  11. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Lava.” Etymologically, 10 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/lava. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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