mossa

Forms

mossa f (plural mosse)^[1]

Etymology

It is the feminine of mosso, the past participle of muovere, used as a noun of action.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the first record to Dante's Inferno (1300–1313), where the word means the impulse that sets something going: a soul may fall into Tolomea innanzi ch'Atropòs mossa le dea, before Atropos gives it its start, that is, before death.^[7] DELI's first records are Bindo Bonichi, before 1338, for an action or intervention, and Giovanni Villani, before 1348, for the movement of a force, especially a tactical one.^[8]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century mossa was the setting out of a force or the start of something: Villani's alla sua mossa is when someone sets out, and Francesco da Barberino uses it for the beginning.^[8][9] From the start come phrases with mosse: stare sulle mosse (1685) and essere sulle mosse (before 1750) “to be about to leave”, and prendere le mosse “to start from”.^[8][10] The start of a horse race, especially the Palio of Siena, is still la mossa.^[10][7]

Galileo, before 1642, uses the word for a move in chess or draughts, and rubare la mossa, to forestall an opponent's move, is recorded in 1891.^[8] The sense of a single movement or gesture of the body is recorded from 1705, and an action aimed at a result (una mossa sbagliata) belongs to the same family of uses.^[8][7] In the variety theatre of the early 20th century la mossa was the dancer's sudden jerk of the hips at the end of a number.^[3][11] Colloquial darsi una mossa means to hurry up.^[3][10]

Timeline

• 1300–1313 – Dante uses mossa for an impulse that sets something going.^[7]
• Before 1338 – Bindo Bonichi uses it for an action or intervention.^[8]
• Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it for the movement of a force.^[8]
• Before 1642 – Galileo uses it for a move in chess.^[8]
• 1685 – Stare sulle mosse is recorded.^[8]
• Before 1705 – F. Nomi uses it for a movement of the body.^[8]
• 1891 – Rubare la mossa is recorded.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A movement of the body or of a part of it; a gesture: Con una mossa improvvisa ha fatto cadere la tazza.^[7][3][12]
2. (theatre, historical) The provocative jerk of the hips with which variety dancers ended their number.^[7][3][12]
3. (military) A movement of troops with strategic value.^[7][4]
4. An action meant to achieve a result; a step: Licenziarsi adesso sarebbe una mossa sbagliata.^[7][12][10]
5. (games) In chess and draughts, a move of a piece from one square to another.^[7][12][4]
6. (martial arts) A technique used to overcome an opponent.^[7][3]
7. The start of the horses in a race, especially the Palio of Siena; a beginning, a start.^[7][10][12]

Word family

• mossiere
• contromossa

Related words

• muovere
• mosso
• moto

Usage notes

Common phrases are darsi una mossa “to hurry up”, fare la prima mossa “to make the first move”, and prendere le mosse da “to start from”.^[7][3][10] A separate, obsolete mossa was a measure for liquids used in Austrian lands, a little over a litre, adapted from German Maß (“tankard”).^[6]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
5. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2518
6. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
12. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse