razza

razza¹ breed, race

Pronunciation

• /ˈrat.t͡sa/^[1]

Forms

razza f (plural razze)^[1]

Etymology

The breed is probably borrowed from Old French haraz (“horse stud, stud farm”), an Old French word probably of Norse origin, which developed from “stud” to “breed of horses” and then to “kind, descent”.^[2][3][4][5] Medieval Latin had aratia and arracia for the king's stud in Sicily in 1267.^[6] The first vowel of the French word was lost, taken for part of the article.^[7][8][9]

The origin was long disputed.^[3][1] Salvioni (1902) derived the word from Latin generātiō (“generation”) with loss of the first syllables, as Ottavio Ferrari had in the 17th century;^[3][10][11] Canello (1872), Leo Spitzer and Prati preferred Latin ratiō (“nature, kind”).^[3][10][11] DEI suggested Arabic رَأْس (raʔs, “head”), and Wiktionary also lists Latin racēmus and Latin rādīx among the proposals.^[12][1][13] Gianfranco Contini (1959) settled the question for DELI and Nocentini: the oldest example, in the Old Italian poem L'Intelligenza, is the masculine Old Italian razzo, used of “a steed of great breeding”, which matches the French word exactly, and the early contexts always speak of horses from a good stud.^[3][2] Francesco Sabatini (1962) added more evidence.^[3][2]

From Italian the word passed to French race (about 1480), Spanish raza, Portuguese raça, English race and German Rasse (1581).^[2][14][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Sienese Fatti di Cesare (late 13th century). The early senses are a stud or herd of horses, then the quality or origin of a man or animal.^[15][2] The Intelligenza has the masculine razzo.^[3][11]

Semantic evolution

Antonio Pucci (before 1388) uses razza for a kind or sort, often in a figurative or contemptuous way;^[3][6] Giovanni Gherardi (before 1446) writes of thousands of horses “of the most prized stock and breed of Apulia”, and the Pataffio uses the word for lineage.^[3][6] The use for divisions of mankind by physical features is recorded in 1866.^[3]

Derivatives tied to theories of race came in the 20th century: razziale (raziale from 1900, after English racial), razzismo (Croce, 1932, beside French racisme) and razzista.^[3][2] Modern dictionaries stress that the division of mankind into races has no scientific basis, and GRADIT marks the use of razza for peoples in racist language.^[9][4]

Timeline

• 1267 – Medieval Latin aratia is used for the royal stud in Sicily.^[6]
• Late 13th century – Razza appears in the Fatti di Cesare.^[15][2]
• Before 1388 – Antonio Pucci uses it for a kind or sort.^[3]
• Before 1446 – Giovanni Gherardi uses it for a breed of horses.^[3][6]
• c. 1480 – French race is recorded.^[14]
• 1581 – German Rasse is recorded.^[14]
• 1866 – It is used for human races.^[3]
• 1932 – Benedetto Croce uses razzismo.^[3]
• 1959 – Contini traces the word to Old French haraz.^[3][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A breed of animals or variety of plants with shared hereditary features: Allevano una razza di pecore da latte.^[4][5][16]
2. A race, one of the groups into which mankind was traditionally divided by physical features.^[4][16][9]
3. descent, lineage, stock.^[4][16]
4. (often derogatory) A kind, sort: Che razza di risposta è questa?^[4][16]

Word family

• razziale
• razzismo
• razzista
• razzistico
• razzatore
• dirazzare

razza² ray (fish)

Pronunciation

• /ˈrad.d͡za/^[1]

Forms

razza f (plural razze)^[1]

Etymology

The fish is borrowed from Venetian raza, the Venetian continuation of Latin raia (“ray”), with the voiced /dz/ of the north.^{[3][2][4][5][11]} The same Latin word is French raie, Occitan raia, Spanish raya and Portuguese arraia.^[2][13]

The Latin word is of unknown origin for DELI and GRADIT.^[3][4] Nocentini derives it from an earlier *radia, the feminine of Latin radius (“ray; spike”), for the spiny skin of the fish, and notes after Rohlfs that its name is often that of spiny plants, as Corsican razza (“sarsaparilla”) and Emilian raṣa (“bramble”).^[2][3] De Vaan compares Middle Dutch rogghe and Old English reohhe “ray” and thinks of a loanword from a substrate language.^[17][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Venetian Lio Mazor (1312–1314).^[15] Medieval Latin razia is found at Venice in 1227.^[3]

Semantic evolution

A document from Fiume has razia in 1449, and Cristoforo Messisbugo's cookery book has razza in 1549, listing it among fish of little value.^[3][6] Florio (1598) gives raggia and razzo, and Rome had raia in the 16th century.^[3] Redi notes that the rays have no swim bladder.^[6][18]

Timeline

• 1227 – Medieval Latin razia is recorded at Venice.^[3]
• 1312–1314 – Razza appears in the Venetian Lio Mazor.^[15]
• 1449 – A document from Fiume has razia.^[3]
• 1549 – Messisbugo writes razza.^[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (zoology) A ray or skate, a flat cartilaginous sea fish with a rhomboid body and wide pectoral fins: razza chiodata “thornback ray”.^[4][5][8]