pattuglia

Forms

pattuglia f (plural pattuglie)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French patrouille, recorded in French in the mid-16th century: 1538 according to DEI and GDLI, 1553 in GRADIT and 1559 in DELI.^[2][3][4][5] The French noun comes from the verb patrouiller (“to tramp through mud”), an altered form of older patouiller (“to paddle in mud”), from patte (“paw”).^{[2][6][3][4][7]} The verb then also came to mean “to go on patrol”.^[4][8]

DEI and Prati place Spanish patrulla between French and Italian.^[5][9] Nocentini derives the Spanish word, like the English word patrol, straight from French.^[6] Meyer-Lübke traces the French noun to an expressive Vulgar Latin *patta (“paw”),^[10] while Körting thought the stem ⟨pat-⟩ probably of Low German origin.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in A. Contarini in 1565, for a small group of soldiers or police given a particular task.^[2] DEI's first example is from Buonarroti the Younger (1618).^[5]

Semantic evolution

The verb pattugliare “to go on patrol” is recorded before 1764 (Bergantini), and in the transitive sense “to watch over with a patrol” in Carlo Cassola (1959); pattugliamento dates from 1799.^[2] A dialect form patùlia is also recorded.^[4] Through French patouiller the Piedmontese dialect has patuiè “to mess up”.^[5]

The word has kept its military and police use, with the vessels bastimenti da pattuglia for coastal watch and the air force's pattuglia acrobatica, an aerobatic display team.^[7][3] By extension it is any small group of people sharing an interest.^[3][12]

Timeline

• 1538 – French patrouille is recorded.^[5][4]
• 1565 – A. Contarini has the first Italian record.^[2]
• 1618 – Buonarroti the Younger uses pattuglia.^[5]
• Before 1764 – Pattugliare “to go on patrol” is recorded.^[2]
• 1799 – Pattugliamento is recorded.^[2]
• 1959 – Carlo Cassola uses pattugliare transitively.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A patrol: a small group of soldiers or police sent to watch over or reconnoitre an area: Una pattuglia dei carabinieri ha fermato l’auto.^{[3][7][12][1]}
2. By extension, a small group of people with a common interest.^[3][12]
3. Patrolling, the activity of a patrol.^[3]
4. (aviation) Pattuglia acrobatica: an aerobatic display team of military aircraft.^[7][3]

Word family

• pattugliare
• pattugliamento
• pattuglione

Related words

• French patrouille
• Spanish patrulla

Usage notes

Essere di pattuglia is to be on patrol duty.^[3][7] Pattuglia is also a form of the verb pattugliare.^[13]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
5. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2808
6. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
8. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
9. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 753
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
12. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org