refutazione

Forms

refutazione f (plural refutazioni)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin refūtātiō (“refutation”), first recorded at the end of the 12th century.^[2][3][1][4] The Latin noun is formed from refūtō (“to repel; to refute”).^[5][2][6]

Nocentini analyses the Latin verb as the prefix re- with a *fūtō (“to beat”) of the same root as futuō.^[2] The Latin verb also gave the learned refutare and the popular rifiutare.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the word to the end of the 12th century;^[2][3][7] GRADIT's first record is later, the old form rifutazione in the second half of the 14th century.^[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used the word for a renunciation, a sense now obsolete.^[8] In modern Italian it survives only as a rare literary Latinism for confutazione.^[6][7][9]

Timeline

• Late 12th century – Nocentini's date for the first record.^[2][3]
• Second half of the 14th century – GRADIT records the form rifutazione.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (literary, rare) refutation: the act of refuting an argument, and its result; the same as confutazione.^[7][3][6]
2. (obsolete) A renunciation.^[8]

Related words

• refutare
• rifiutare
• confutare
• Latin refūtātiō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ 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
4. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 365
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
7. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse