multa

Forms

multa f (plural multe)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin multa (“fine, penalty”), recorded in Italian from the 14th century.^[2][3][4][1] The verb multare “to fine” likewise goes back to Latin multō (“to fine, punish”).^[2][3] The same Latin word gave Old French multe, with the verb multer, also learned, and the noun is Spanish multa and Portuguese multa.^[5][6][3] The DEI suggests that the word may have survived as a half-popular form in the Engadine, where Romansh munta means a fine and a forest closed to cutting.^[6][7]

In Latin the word first named a penalty paid in property, originally in livestock and later in money.^[8][9] Ancient scholars already called it a word of another Italic people: Samnite according to Varro, Oscan according to Festus.^[2][6][3] Nocentini notes that Oscan inscriptions confirm this with Oscan moltam (“fine”) and moltaum (“to fine”), and that Umbrian has a related form.^[3][8][1] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Italic *moltā, of unknown origin.^[1] DELI finds no correspondences outside Italic.^[2] Nocentini thinks it probably belongs with multus (“much”) (Italian molto), as the amount that has to be paid, and Devoto too took it as an abstract noun from the root of molto and migliore.^[3][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Perugian statutes of 1342, in the sense of a sanction paid in money;^[11][2] DELI dates the word to the 14th century in the statutes of the Florentine merchants' court (Tribunale della Mercanzia).^[11][2] The court statutes speak of compelling debtors “in their persons and goods, even by fine and by the wasting of their property” (eziandio per multa e per guasto de' beni).^[9][12] Old spellings include mulcta beside multa.^[11]

Semantic evolution

In older usage multa covered any sanction paid in money or other goods, whatever its legal nature.^[9] Ariosto used it more generally for the punishment due for one's errors, a sense the modern dictionaries mark as literary or obsolete.^{[4][13][14][15]} The verb multare “to sentence to a fine” is recorded in 1345, in the statutes of the mercers of Colle di Val d'Elsa.^[2]

Tommaseo's dictionary distinguished the multa, imposed for real offences above a set sum and paid to the state treasury, from the ammenda for small police infringements and also from the old Germanic composition paid to the injured party.^[12] Legal language still reserves multa for the money penalty set for crimes, while everyday Italian uses it for any fine, above all for traffic offences, where the law would strictly say ammenda.^[13][15][4] German borrowed the word as Mult.^[16]

Timeline

• 1342 – The Perugian statutes have multa for a money penalty.^[11]
• 1345 – The verb multare appears in the statutes of the mercers of Colle di Val d'Elsa.^[2]
• 14th century – The statutes of the Florentine Tribunale della Mercanzia use multa.^[2][9]
• 1803 – D'Alberti's dictionary records multare.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (law) A fine: a money penalty set by law for an offence.^[4][14][13]
2. A fine for a minor infringement, especially a traffic offence; a contravvenzione: Ha preso una multa per la sosta in seconda fila.^[4][15][17]
3. (literary, obsolete) Punishment, chastisement.^{[4][14][15][18]}

Word family

• multare
• supermulta

Related words

• Latin multa

Usage notes

In law multa and ammenda are distinct penalties, but in common use multa is the usual word for both.^[13][12] Multa penitenziale is a technical phrase.^[4][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 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 g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
6. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2528
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
12. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
15. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
16. ^ Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
17. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
18. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli