Etymologically
Log in

regata

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Italian word regata

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1311 before 1311, Anonimo Genovese More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
Latin capiō

Pronunciation

  • /reˈɡa.ta/[1]

Forms

regata f (plural regate)[1] Older forms include Old Italian regatta, Old Italian ragatta and Old Italian rigatta.[2][3]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from Italian regatare (“to compete”).[4][5][2] The verb is traced to Vulgar Latin *recaptāre (“to chase in order to catch, to take back”), formed re- on captō (“to try to catch”), itself from capiō (“to take”).[6][4][7][8][1] The same Latin verb gave ricattare.[9][10]

The early records were all Venetian, so the origin was long sought in Venice, where the Latin form Medieval Latin regatta appears from 1315.[6][3] Alberto Vàrvaro found older examples elsewhere, all meaning “race”: Ligurian regata, Sicilian a regattu and Neapolitan a rraggatta.[6][4] He placed the centre of diffusion on the coast between Catalonia and Genoa, with the word moving on to Naples and then to Venice.[6][4] Nocentini explains it as a sea race in pursuit, and notes that the double ⟨tt⟩ of the first records was later simplified.[4] Alessio objected that no Romance language supports such a Latin verb, but DELI finds the objections answerable.[6]

Many dictionaries still give the word as borrowed from Venetian regata, from Venetian regatar (“to compete”).[7][9][11][12] Etymonline traces the Venetian word to rigattare, “to compete, haggle, sell at retail”, of uncertain origin.[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first Italian record is in the poems of the Anonimo Genovese, at the turn of the 14th century, for a contest of ships: ver la lor regata far, “to see them run their race”.[6][4][2] Venetian documents had recorded regattas in Latin since 1315.[6]

Semantic evolution

Venice made the regatta its own: the Venetian verb ragattar is found in 1420 and 1428, and Marin Sanudo, who died in 1536, describes a regatta on the Grand Canal.[6][2] An ordinance on rowing in the galleys provided for four galley regattas a year.[2] Garzoni has fare a regata in 1585, and Algarotti speaks of gondolieri da regatta in the 18th century.[6] Tommaseo still called it a Venetian word.[14]

French had régate for the gondola races of Venice from 1679, English regatta from 1652, and German Regatta from 1728.[15][3] In English the general sense of a sailing or rowing race dates from 1775, after a regatta on the Thames.[15][13] Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese regata come from Italian too.[4][3] Today regata storica names a race in historical boats and costume, as at Venice, Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi.[16]

Timeline

  • Before 1311 – The Anonimo Genovese uses regata.[4][2]
  • 1315 – Latin regatta is recorded at Venice.[6][3]
  • Before 1337 – A Sicilian translation of Valerius Maximus has a regattu.[6]
  • 1420 – The Venetian verb ragattar is recorded.[6]
  • Before 1536 – Marin Sanudo uses regata.[6]
  • 1614 – Pantera uses regatare, “to race for speed”.[6]
  • 1652 – English regatta is first recorded.[15]
  • 1679 – French régate is first recorded.[15]
  • 1728 – German Regatta is first recorded.[15]

Meanings

Noun

  1. regatta, a speed race between rowing boats, sailing boats or motorboats: Domenica si corre la regata delle repubbliche marinare.[7][8][5][1]
  2. regata storica: a regatta in period boats with crews in costume.[16][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 15, 691
  3. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3222
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b 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 k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  11. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  13. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  14. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  15. ^ a b c d e Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  16. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
Cite this entry

“Regata.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/regata. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·