lena

Forms

lena f (plural lene)^[1]

Etymology

According to DELI and Nocentini it is inherited from Vulgar Latin *alēna, a spoken form made by metathesis from *anhēla (“panting breath”), a noun from Latin anhēlāre (“to breathe with difficulty”); the initial ⟨a-⟩ was absorbed by the article, ⟨l'alena⟩ becoming ⟨la lena⟩.^[2][3][4] Old Italian also had the full form Old Italian alena.^[5][6] Other sources make it a back-formation from Old Italian alenare (“to breathe”), the metathetic form of the Latin verb.^{[1][7][8][9][10][11]}

This verb is recorded in the 10th-century Antidotarium, shaped by hālō (“to breathe out”); it is Old French alener, Occitan alenar and Catalan alenar.^[11] The same noun is French haleine, Occitan alena and Catalan alena.^[3][9] Learned borrowings of the Latin verb gave anelare.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Pier della Vigna, before 1249, with the sense “breath, especially laboured breath”.^[2][4][11] Brunetto Latini describes breathing as the lena that one sends out and draws in.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Dante uses the word both for breath, as in the swimmer “with laboured breath” (con lena affannata) of the first canto of the ''Inferno, and in 1300–1313 for the strength of mind and will needed to bear hardship.^[2][12][9] The LEI explains this second sense as growing out of the first.^[11] In the 16th century the derived verb allenare, recorded from 1581, took the sense “to strengthen”.^[3][11] It later came to mean “to train”, with allenamento and allenatore, both recorded in 1892.^[3]

Old Italian senza lena meant “without pause”, almost “without stopping for breath”.^[9] Today the word is common in the phrase di buona lena, with energy and at a good pace.^[4][8][9]

Timeline

• Before 1249 – Pier della Vigna uses lena for breath.^[2]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses it for vigour of spirit and will.^[2]
• 1581 – The derivative allenare is first recorded.^[3]
• 1892 – Allenamento and allenatore are first recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. vigour, energy, physical or moral strength, especially to keep up a long effort: Dopo la pausa si rimise al lavoro con nuova lena.^[4][7][8][9]
2. (literary) breath, especially laboured breath after an effort: Si fermò in cima alla salita per riprendere lena.^[4][7][8][1]

Word family

• allenare
• allenamento
• allenatore
• slenato
• lenanza

Related words

• alena
• anelare
• alito
• French haleine

Usage notes

The usual phrases are di buona lena and di gran lena, with energy, and a tutta lena, with all one's breath and strength.^[4][9] Several rare words are spelled the same: an old lena “rest, pause”;^[13] lena “woollen cloak”, a learned word from Latin laena, of Greek origin;^[6] lena “procuress”, from Latin lēna;^[6] and lena “tongue of land by the sea”, of unknown origin, in a 1296 portolan.^[5] The vowel is pronounced both closed and open.^[1][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 8, 939
7. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c d e f g Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c d e f Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 2, 1270
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2200