Etymologically
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proiettile

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Pronunciation

  • /proˈjɛt.ti.le/[1]

Forms

proiettile m (plural proiettili)[1]

Etymology

GRADIT, Nocentini, Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti derive it from Italian proietto + -ile, and DEI and GDLI take the adjective as a learned borrowing of New Latin prōiectilis, from which the noun was formed.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Wiktionary gives the Latin word as Medieval Latin.[1] Its base proietto (“projectile, shell”) is from Latin prōiectus, the past participle of prōiciō (“to throw forward”).[3][2][1] Devoto compares the formation of missile, fissile and fittile.[8]

GRADIT sets English projectile, of 1665, beside it, and DEI dates French projectile to 1762.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun is first recorded in 1749, in the Italian translation of Ephraim Chambers's Cyclopaedia, for any body that can be fired from a gun.[9][6][2]

Semantic evolution

The older proietto, a body hurled through the air, especially from a gun, is in Galileo (1630–1631).[9][2] Proiettile became the general word, while proietto stayed the technical term of artillery;[2][4] GRADIT calls the use of proiettile for a round fired from a weapon improper, though it is the everyday sense.[2]

In the 19th century Mazzini wrote of smuggling proiettili of a new design into Milan for the barricades.[7] DEI records proiettile tracciante “tracer bullet” in 1940.[6] Physics uses the word for a particle accelerated to bombard atomic nuclei, and everyday speech for anyone who moves very fast.[2][4]

Timeline

  • 1630–1631 – Galileo uses proietto.[9][2]
  • 1665 – English projectile is recorded.[2][6]
  • 1749 – Proiettile appears in the Italian Chambers.[9][6]
  • About 1750 – Antonio Cocchi uses the adjective proiettile in physiology.[6]
  • 1762 – French projectile is recorded.[6]
  • 1940 – Proiettile tracciante is recorded.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A projectile: any body thrown or launched through space: L'eruzione lanciò proiettili di lava fino al paese.[2][4][5][1]
  2. A bullet or shell fired from a gun: Il proiettile ha colpito il muro.[2][4][5][1]
  3. (figurative) A person or thing that moves very fast: Il cane è corso fuori dal cancello come un proiettile.[2][4]
  4. (physics) A particle accelerated to bombard atomic structures.[2][4]

Word family

  • proiettificio
  • antiproiettile
  • proietto
  • proiettare
  • Latin prōiciō
  • English projectile

Usage notes

Proiettile is also a rare literary adjective meaning “propulsive”: Leopardi writes of the forza proiettile that sends a body upwards.[2][7] In 18th-century physiology Cocchi called moto proiettile the movement of fluids driven by the contraction of the vessels.[7][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3100
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli