orata

Forms

orata f (plural orate)^[1] A regional form is orada, with a voiced /d/ that Sabatini–Coletti puts down to the Gallo-Romance dialects of the north.^[2][3] It is Venetian orada in Venice.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *orāta, from Latin aurāta (“gilthead”), the noun use of the feminine of aurātus (“gilded, golden”), which is from aurum (“gold”).^[5][2][6][1] The form with /o/ is already recorded in Latin: Festus has ōrāta, which shows the rustic pronunciation of the diphthong /au/ as /o/.^[5][7][8] Festus himself explained the name by the colour of gold, which country people called ōrum.^[7] The fish is named for the golden band on its head.^[9][2] The Latin name is also seen as a calque of Ancient Greek χρύσοφρυς (khrýsophrys), literally “golden-browed”.^[6][10]

The same Latin word survives in Dalmatian ourata, Occitan aurada and Catalan aurada.^[11][5] Spanish dorada and Portuguese dourada have a ⟨d-⟩ at the start.^[5][11] The LEI explains such forms by Old Occitan daurada, remade on the verb deaurō (“to gild”), which spread to French daurade and to Spanish.^[10][12] Nocentini and REW take the French word, also spelled dorade, from Spanish.^[5][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a Messinese text by Accurso di Cremona, written between 1321 and 1337, naming the prized sea fish with golden flanks.^[13][5] DELI's first record is Boccaccio, before 1375, who lists l'orate, o l'ostriche (“gilthead or oysters”) among the luxuries he did not ask for.^[7][14]

Semantic evolution

The sense has stayed that of the fish, Sparus aurata, valued for its flesh.^[15][13] Fifteenth-century writers list it among the best sea fish beside grey mullet and mackerel, and Ca' da Mosto writes of orade caught around an island.^[16] Northern orada is recorded from 1606, and forms such as Paduan orate (before 1468) and Old Sicilian aurati (1478–1518) show how widely the word was used.^[10] DELI calls it very widespread in the dialects as well.^[7]

The word also names other fish with golden glints on the body.^[10] The diminutives oratella and oratina are used informally.^[6]

Timeline

• 1321–1337 – Accurso di Cremona uses orata in a Sicilian text.^[13]
• Before 1375 – Boccaccio writes of l'orate.^[7][14]
• Before 1468 – Michele Savonarola has the Paduan plural orate.^[10][16]
• 1606 – The northern form orada is recorded in Ramusio.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. gilthead, sea bream: a sea fish of the family Sparidae (Sparus aurata), silvery on the flanks with a golden crescent between the eyes, common in the Mediterranean and prized as food.^{[15][2][6][1]}

Word family

• oratella
• oratina

Related words

• oro
• aurato
• Latin aurum

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 712
5. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
7. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c d e f Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 2356
11. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
12. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
13. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
14. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
15. ^ a b De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
16. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca