orticoltura

Forms

orticoltura f (plural orticolture)^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from Italian orto + coltura, made on the model of agricoltura.^[2][3][4][5] GRADIT and Nocentini analyse it as the combining form orti- with -coltura.^[6][7] DEI compares the English word horticulture, recorded from 1678, and New Latin horticultura, formed from Latin hortus (“garden”) on the model of “agriculture”.^[8][6] Wiktionary gives the Latin form as the source.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DEI and Nocentini date it before 1813, in Gagliardi.^[8][7] DELI's first record is a Milanese newspaper of 1829, with the sense “the art of cultivating kitchen gardens”.^[9][10][3]

Semantic evolution

In the 19th century the word belonged to the vocabulary of agricultural improvement: Lambruschini lists it beside chemistry and botany, and Carlo Cattaneo, writing orticultura, recommends it for teaching poor families to live on very little land.^[2] Tommaseo found it more Italian in form than giardinaggio, but distinguished it from the art of gardens.^[11]

Today it names the cultivation of vegetables, a branch of agriculture, with its practice and its methods.^[6][4][12]

Timeline

• 1678 – The English word horticulture is recorded.^[8][6]
• Before 1813 – Gagliardi uses orticoltura.^[8][7]
• 1829 – A Milanese newspaper uses the word.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. horticulture: the cultivation of vegetables and kitchen gardens (ortaggi).^{[6][4][10][3][12][1]}

Related words

• orto
• coltura
• agricoltura
• English horticulture

Usage notes

The variant orticultura is also used.^{[4][10][3][2]}

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
3. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2684
9. ^ a b Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)