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relazione

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word relazione

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1304–1308, Dante
Borrowed from
Latin relatio
Ultimate origin
Latin referō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin relatio
English relation
French relation
Italian relazione
From the same root
English relationship ← relation

Pronunciation

  • /re.latˈt͡sjo.ne/[1]

Forms

relazione f (plural relazioni)[1] Old forms include relacione and rellacione.[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin relātiō (“a bringing back; report; relation”), a learned word, from relātus, the past participle of referō (“to bring back, report”).[3][4][5][6][7] The Latin noun meant both “a reporting” and “a relation between things”, the two halves of the Italian word.[4][8] The same word is French relation and Spanish relación.[4]

DEI explains Ariosto's “relazion di grazia” “thanksgiving” as a Latinism from “relatio gratiae”.[5] In music, “relazione” for the relation between the intervals of two chords is recorded in Italian in 1304–1308, and French relation took this sense from Italian in 1703.[9] “Pubbliche relazioni” translates English public relations.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Dante's Convivio (1304–1308), for the kind of relation between two things or phenomena.[3][6] Nocentini dates the word to the early 14th century.[4]

Semantic evolution

The sense “report, account” is found from the late 14th century: Giovanni Sercambi has fare relazione, and ambassadors' reports, such as those of Rinaldo degli Albizzi and Andrea Gritti, were called relazioni.[2] A close link between facts that call each other to mind is recorded before 1566 in Annibal Caro, in relazione “with regard to” before 1642 in Galileo, and the mathematical relation between quantities before 1742 in Guido Grandi.[3]

Relations between people came later: economic or personal ties in 1796, in the Termometro politico della Lombardia, avere una relazione “to have a love affair” in Tommaseo–Bellini in 1872, who adds that this is something not to be reported, and avere molte relazioni “to have many acquaintances” in Palazzi's dictionary of 1939–1940.[3] In Tuscan dialects non dar relazione means “not to listen”.[5]

Timeline

  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses relazione in the Convivio.[3][9]
  • Late 14th century – Giovanni Sercambi uses fare relazione “to report”.[2]
  • Before 1566 – Annibal Caro uses it for a close link between facts.[3]
  • Before 1642 – Galileo uses in relazione.[3]
  • 1703 – French relation takes the musical sense from Italian.[9]
  • Before 1742 – Guido Grandi uses it in mathematics.[3]
  • 1796 – Ties between people, in the Termometro politico della Lombardia.[3]
  • 1872 – Tommaseo–Bellini records avere una relazione “to have an affair”.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A connection or link between two concepts or facts: C'è una relazione evidente tra i due fenomeni.[6][7][10][1]
  2. A tie or relationship between people, groups or nations: Le due famiglie sono in buone relazioni.[6][10][1]
  3. A love affair: Ha una relazione con un collega.[6][7][11]
  4. (in the plural) Acquaintances, connections: È un uomo con molte relazioni.[10][11]
  5. An oral or written report on a subject: Domani presenterò la relazione al congresso.[6][7][10][1]
  6. (law) The account of the course of a trial given by the judge.[7][8]
  7. (mathematics) A relation between quantities or elements, and the formula expressing it.[6][10][1]

Word family

  • relazionale
  • relazionare
  • correlazione
  • interrelazione

Usage notes

In relazione a “with regard to” is common in bureaucratic and commercial language.[8][12] Pubbliche relazioni are the activities by which a company or person presents a good image to the public.[11][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 15, 770
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3226
  6. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  9. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  10. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  12. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Relazione.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/relazione. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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