raccolta

Forms

raccolta f (plural raccolte)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian raccolto, the past participle of raccogliere, whose feminine came to be used as a noun.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

The verb is accogliere in the sense “to gather”, with the prefix ri- of repetition or continuity.^[7][3] DELI, after the LEI, also allows a source in Vulgar Latin *accolligō strengthened with re-, and Wiktionary derives the verb from Latin recolligō.^[7][1] Speakers have long felt it as ra- plus cogliere: Bembo grouped it with raddoppiare and rafforzare among words that double the consonant after the prefix.^[7]

The simple verb is colligō (“to gather, collect”), formed from legō (“to gather; to choose”) with com-.^[3] It survives across Romance: Old French cueillir, Old Occitan colhir, Catalan cullir, Spanish coger, Portuguese colher, Sardinian coglire and Romanian culege.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the noun to 1348–1353 and Devoto–Oli and Nocentini to the 14th century.^[4][2][3] DELI's first dated record is from A. Di Costanzo in 1572, for the act of gathering.^[7] The GDLI quotes him on a king who camped by a river per impedire la raccolta delle biade (“to prevent the harvest of the grain”).^[6]

Semantic evolution

The old form was racòlta.^[6] Tasso, before 1595, used the word for a set of things brought together in order, the sense of a collection of books or pictures.^[7][8] Florio's dictionary of 1598 adds the signal of trumpets and drums that called soldiers to their colours, and a gathering or mass of people.^[7] From this come the phrases chiamare a raccolta and suonare a raccolta, to call together, also of one's strength or thoughts.^[8][5][9]

The harvest sense stays central: Tommaseo records Tuscan pagare a raccolta, to pay at harvest time, and the proverb L'economia è una gran raccolta (“thrift is a great harvest”).^[10] For the crop itself raccolto is now more usual.^[2]

Later senses name the funds a bank collects and a tucked position of the body in diving and gymnastics.^[8][9] Raccolta differenziata, the separate collection of recyclable waste, is quoted from La Repubblica of 5 January 1985.^[11] English borrowed raccolta as a military term in 1591, and German Raccolta is recorded in 1806.^[12]

Timeline

• 1348–1353 – GRADIT's date for the first record.^[4]
• 1572 – A. Di Costanzo uses it for the act of gathering a harvest.^[7][6]
• 1591 – English borrows raccolta as a military term.^[12]
• Before 1595 – Tasso uses it for an ordered collection.^[7]
• 1598 – Florio records the military signal and the sense “gathering, mass”.^[7]
• 1806 – German Raccolta is recorded.^[12]
• 1985 – Raccolta differenziata appears in La Repubblica.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. The harvest: the gathering of crops or fruit when they are ripe: la raccolta delle mele.^[4][2][13]
2. The harvest season: salderemo il conto alla raccolta.^[4][2]
3. The crop gathered (more often raccolto): quest’anno la raccolta è stata magra.^[4][2][13]
4. The collecting of things or people for a purpose: una raccolta di firme contro la chiusura dell’ospedale.^[4][2][13]
5. A collection of objects of one kind, kept in order: una raccolta di conchiglie.^[4][2][8]
6. A collection of writings in one volume, an anthology: una raccolta di racconti.^[4][2]
7. (publishing) A bound volume of the issues of a periodical, or a series of books.^[4]
8. (medicine) An accumulation of fluid or pus in a cavity or tissue.^[4]
9. (banking) The funds a bank collects from its customers.^[8][9][13]
10. (historical, military) The signal that called soldiers to assemble: suonare a raccolta.^[8][9]
11. (sport) In diving, swimming and gymnastics, a tucked position of the body.^[8][9]

Related words

• raccogliere
• raccolto
• cogliere
• accogliere
• Latin colligo

Usage notes

Raccolta is also the feminine of the adjective raccolto, “gathered; absorbed, quiet”.^[13][14] Common phrases include raccolta differenziata (separate waste collection), bacino di raccolta (catchment basin) and chiamare a raccolta.^[4][5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
6. ^ 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
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c d e Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. Supplemento 2009
12. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
13. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org