racconto

Forms

racconto m (plural racconti)^[1]

Etymology

It is a noun formed in Italian from the verb raccontare (“to tell”), with the ending -o.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The verb is recorded from the late 13th century, in the “Novellino”; it is contare in the sense “to tell, relate”, with the prefix ra- for emphasis, like the archaic ricontare.^[2][3][4] This verb goes back to Latin computō (“to count, reckon”).^[2][3][1]

Beside the noun there was an old participle ⟨racconto⟩ “told”, without the participle ending, which the GDLI and Zingarelli treat as a separate headword.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is from Lodovico Castelvetro in 1570, for “what is told”;^[2] Tasso uses the word in 1594 for the manner or act of telling.^[2] GRADIT dates the noun to 1576.^[4] One of the GDLI's early quotations is Tasso asking whether Virgil does not bring in “il racconto d'Enea” in the second book of the Aeneid.^[8]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th to 19th centuries the word meant any account of facts, true or imagined: the GDLI quotes Leopardi on the distress the account of a friend's troubles causes him, and Mazzini on travellers' tales of brigands.^[8] Tommaseo noted that fare un racconto could mean to embroider the facts.^[9]

From the 19th century racconto also became a literary term: a prose narrative shorter and simpler than a novel, the English short story.^[9][4][10] Zingarelli places it between the romanzo and the shorter novella.^[7] Diminutives are raccontino and raccontuccio.^[7][10]

Timeline

• Late 13th century – the verb raccontare appears in the Novellino.^[2]
• 1570 – Castelvetro uses racconto for “what is told”.^[2]
• 1576 – GRADIT's date for the noun.^[4]
• 1594 – Tasso uses it for the act of telling.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A narration, an orderly account of facts, situations or words: Il suo racconto della serata ci ha fatto ridere tutti.^[4][11][7]
2. What is told, a story: Non so se credere al racconto del testimone.^[4][7][10]
3. (literature) A short story, a prose narrative shorter and less complex than a novel: Ha pubblicato una raccolta di racconti.^[4][11][5]
4. A narrative passage of a poem.^[11]

Word family

• raccontino

Related words

• raccontare
• contare
• conto

Usage notes

Racconto as a short participle of raccontare (le cose racconte, the things told) is obsolete and literary.^[4][6][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 15, 232
7. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
11. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier