lettura

Forms

lettura f (plural letture)^[1] Old Italian also wrote lectura and letura.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin lectūra, a learned word which in Late Latin (first in Probus) also meant a commentary, and replaced classical Latin lēctiō.^[3][4][5] Nocentini instead derives it from Medieval Latin lectura, while Wiktionary treats it as inherited from Latin.^[6][1] The Latin word is formed on Latin lēctus, the supine and past participle of legō (“to read”).^[5][7][8]

The same Late Latin word spread in western Romance: French lecture (14th century), which gave the English word lecture.^[3][8] Sabatini–Coletti traces the sense “public talk, lecture” to the English word.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records fall in the years 1300–1313: Dante uses the word for the act of reading, in Inferno 5: Per più fiate li occhi ci sospinse / quella lettura (“many times that reading made our eyes meet”).^[9][8] The TLIO's first record is a Florentine statute of 1310–1313.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Already in Old Italian the word meant the text that is read, and especially the lessons of the medieval universities, in which a master read and expounded a text; it also named the public reading of a legal text by an arbiter or authority.^[2] Boccaccio uses it for the interpretation of a text (before 1375).^[9] In the 16th century it could mean the right to teach and a commentary on a legal text.^[3]

Later senses include a lecture or talk (1668, Magalotti) and the written work itself, something to read (before 1729, Salvini).^[9] Today it also covers a reading of the Scriptures at Mass, the reading of a bill in parliament, and an interpretation of a text, a work of art or an event.^[4][7] The libro di lettura was the school reader on which children practised reading.^[10]

Timeline

• 1300–1313 – Dante uses lettura for the act of reading.^[9]
• 1310–1313 – A Florentine statute uses the word.^[2]
• Before 1375 – Boccaccio uses it for the interpretation of a text.^[9]
• 1500s – It means the right to lecture, and a commentary on a legal text.^[3]
• 1668 – Magalotti uses it for a lecture or talk.^[9]
• Before 1729 – Salvini uses it for a written text that is read.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. reading, the act of reading a text, silently or aloud: un errore di lettura.^[4][5][1]
2. Reading as a habit or pastime: passa le serate immerso nella lettura.^[4][5]
3. The teaching and practice of reading at school: i bambini fanno lettura ogni mattina.^[4][5]
4. A reading aloud for listeners; a recitation of verse or a play.^[4]
5. An exposition and commentary of a literary work, as in letture dantesche.^[4]
6. An interpretation of a text, a work of art or an event: una lettura politica dei fatti.^[4][7]
7. A text or book to be read: letture per ragazzi.^[4][5]
8. A passage of Scripture read during Mass.^[4]
9. (politics) The debate of a bill in parliament before the vote.^[4]
10. A lecture or talk.^[4][5][1]
11. University teaching; a university course or chair.^[4]
12. The proofreading of printed sheets.^[4]

Word family

• rilettura
• letturista

Related words

• lettore
• leggere
• lezione
• Latin lectura
• French lecture

Usage notes

In old printers' usage lettura was also the name of a 12-point type size (cicero).^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2213
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. Supplemento 2009