libertà

Forms

libertà f (invariable)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin lībertās (“freedom; the condition of a free man”), a learned word taken from Latin.^[2][3][4][1] The Latin noun was formed from līber (“free”) with the suffix -tās.^[2][3][5][1] Italian took it from the accusative lībertātem, and the old forms Old Italian libertade and Old Italian libertate keep the full ending that the modern word has lost.^[6][7][8] The same Latin word gave French liberté and Spanish libertad, and, by way of French, English liberty.^[3][4]

Old Latin spellings with ⟨loeb-⟩ and Faliscan loifirtato (“of freedom”) show that the root had a diphthong.^[9][1] De Vaan traces līber to Proto-Italic *leuþero- and Proto-Indo-European *h₁leudʰero-, an adjective for one “belonging to the people”, which also gave Ancient Greek ἐλεύθερος (eleútheros, “free”).^[9] The verbal root meant “to grow”, as the name of the Italian god of vegetation Līber still shows.^[9]

DELI notes that the senses of the word reached Italian and the other European languages at different times, and that libertario and liberticida render French libertaire (1858) and liberticide (1791).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DEI records the word in the 13th century, when it could also mean “liberality, generosity”.^[4] The GDLI quotes Guittone d'Arezzo, who names libertà among the virtues, and Dante, whose Cato is told of a soul seeking freedom: Libertà va cercando, ch'è sì cara, “he goes seeking liberty, which is so dear” (Purgatorio 1, 71).^[10] DELI dates the sense “the state of one who is free, as opposed to slavery” to this passage of 1313–1319.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The scholastic sense, the power of the will to choose between alternatives, runs from Guittone and Dante through the philosophical tradition, and Tommaseo still put it first: the faculty of choosing between two or more things.^[10][11] Dante also used the word for freedom from obligations and ties (before 1321).^[2] The sense “freedom from control or restraint” is dated before 1543, in Agnolo Firenzuola.^[2]

In the plural the word took the sense of over-familiar or bold behaviour: Manzoni wrote prendersi la libertà and pigliarsi tante libertà in 1821–1842.^[2] The sense “the state of one who is not a prisoner” is recorded in 1869, and the legal libertà provvisoria, release from preventive custody, appears in the title of a Palermo pamphlet of 1862.^[2] The political sense, the independence of a people from foreign rule or from dictatorship, and the list of civil liberties (libertà di parola, di stampa, di culto) make up much of the modern entry.^[12][6][13]

Timeline

• 13th century – The word is recorded, also in the sense “generosity”.^[4]
• 1313–1319 – Dante's Purgatorio uses it for freedom as opposed to slavery.^[2][10]
• Before 1543 – Firenzuola uses it for freedom from restraint.^[2]
• 1791 – French liberticide is coined, later rendered as liberticida.^[2]
• 1821–1823 – Manzoni writes pigliarsi tante libertà for taking liberties.^[2]
• 1862 – Libertà provvisoria, release on bail, appears in a legal title.^[2]
• 1869 – The sense “state of not being imprisoned” is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. freedom, liberty: the condition of one who can act without constraint, and is not a slave or a prisoner: Il giudice lo rimise in libertà.^[12][6][13]
2. The freedom to think, speak and choose for oneself, and the rights that guarantee it: libertà di parola, libertà di stampa, libertà religiosa.^[12][7][8]
3. The independence of a people or state from foreign rule or a dictatorship: Lottarono per la libertà della patria.^[12][6]
4. Freedom from obligations, ties or commitments, also free time: qualche ora di libertà.^[12][6][14]
5. Lack of restraint in speech or behaviour, excessive familiarity, prendersi delle libertà, to take liberties.^[12][14][6]
6. (philosophy) The power of the will to choose, free will.^[10][11]

Word family

• libertario
• liberticida
• semilibertà

Related words

• libero
• liberare
• liberale
• Latin libertas
• French liberté

Usage notes

Mettersi in libertà means to change into comfortable clothes at home.^[14][13] Libertà vigilata is a security measure under which a person is free but under supervision, and libertà provvisoria release from preventive custody pending trial.^[13]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2221
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
9. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
14. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli