Etymologically
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lentamente

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Pronunciation

  • /len.taˈmen.te/, /ˌlɛn.taˈmen.te/[1]

Forms

lentamente (superlative lentissimamente)[1] Old Italian also has lentemente, in Francesco da Buti.[2]

Etymology

It is from Italian lento (“slow”) + -mente, with the adverbial suffix.[3][1][4] The adjective is inherited from Latin lentus (“pliant; sticky; slow”), a word without clear relatives inside Latin;[5][6] Nocentini compares only Germanic words such as Old High German lindi (“mild, soft”).[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the adverb to before 1348.[3] The GDLI's earliest quotation is from Giovanni Villani's chronicle, where the Florentine troops at Bologna sent for help, and it lentamente vi vennono, “came there slowly”.[7][2]

Semantic evolution

Old texts already use the word for slow movement, and also for slackness and idleness, as in Matteo Villani's “he behaved basely and sluggishly in everything”.[2] Galileo has the superlative lentissimamente for stars that move very slowly in small circles.[7] Today it also means “gradually”, of things that change or improve by degrees.[3][4]

As a musical direction lentamente passed into English in 1762, and French rendered it with its own lentement (1767).[8]

Timeline

  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses lentamente.[3][7]
  • 1762 – English records lentamente as a musical direction.[8]
  • 1767 – French lentement is used in the same musical sense.[8]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. slowly, at a slow pace: Il treno entrò lentamente in stazione.[3][4][9]
  2. gradually, by degrees: La febbre sta lentamente scendendo.[3][4]
  3. (music) Slowly, as a direction to the performer.[8]
  • lento
  • lentezza
  • rallentare
  • allentare

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  3. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  4. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  5. ^ a b Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 8, 945
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli