resistenza

Forms

resistenza f (plural resistenze)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian resistenzia, Old Italian risistenza and Old Italian risistenzia.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Late Latin resistentia, from resistēns, the present participle of Latin resistō (“to resist”).^[4][5][6][2] The Latin verb is formed from re- (“back, again”) and sistō (“to stop; to stand”).^[1]

The historical sense, the wartime Resistance against the Germans and Fascism, is a calque of French résistance, the word De Gaulle used in his radio appeal from Britain of 22 June 1940.^[2][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first date is for the extended sense “strength to bear physical effort or moral dejection”, in Jacopone da Todi before 1306.^[4] The general sense “an effort opposing someone's action” follows in Giovanni Villani, before 1348.^[4][6]

Semantic evolution

Villani and Boccaccio use resistenza for armed defence, and the defence of a besieged town (fare resistenza).^[2][3] In the Renaissance the word entered science: the physical force opposing motion is recorded in the 15th century (resistenzia, Tommaso Benci) and in Giordano Bruno before 1600, the strength of a material in Francesco di Giorgio Martini before 1502, and the military defensive phase in Guicciardini before 1540.^[4]

Electricity added resistenza elettrica in 1884, and the word is also used, though proscribed, for the component, the resistor.^[4][1] Psychoanalysis uses it for the patient's defences against unconscious content.^[9] The Resistenza of 1943–1945, the Italian armed movement against the German occupation and Fascism, is recorded in 1949, and German borrowed the Italian name.^[4][10]

Timeline

• Before 1306 – Jacopone da Todi uses resistenza for endurance.^[4]
• Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it for opposition to an action.^[4]
• Before 1502 – Francesco di Giorgio Martini uses it for the strength of a material.^[4]
• Before 1540 – Guicciardini uses it for a military defensive phase.^[4]
• Before 1600 – Giordano Bruno uses it for the force opposing motion.^[4]
• 1884 – resistenza elettrica appears in the title of a work by A. Roiti.^[4]
• 1949 – the Enciclopedia italiana records Resistenza for the wartime movement.^[4][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. resistance, opposition: the effort to oppose someone or something, or a refusal to go along with others' will: resistenza passiva, non-violent refusal to cooperate.^[6][7][11]
2. (military) Defensive action against an enemy's advance: L’esercito oppose una resistenza tenace.^[6][9]
3. (law) In resistenza a pubblico ufficiale, the offence of resisting a public officer with violence or threats.^[7][11][9]
4. endurance, stamina: the ability to bear fatigue, hardship or illness, and in sport to sustain a long effort: gara di resistenza.^[6][12][13]
5. Strength, durability of a material against blows, tearing or stress: una corda di straordinaria resistenza.^[6][11][12]
6. (physics) A force that opposes the motion of a body: resistenza dell’aria.^[7][11][9]
7. (electricity) Electrical resistance, and colloquially a resistor.^[11][9][1]
8. (biology, medicine) The ability of an organism or bacterium to withstand harmful substances, such as antibiotics.^[7][13]
9. (psychoanalysis) The patient's defences against the emergence of unconscious content.^[9]
10. (history, capitalized) The Resistenza, the Italian armed movement against the German occupation and Fascism in 1943–1945.^[10][4][8]

Word family

• resistenziale

Related words

• resistente
• resistere
• French résistance

Usage notes

Wiktionary gives both /re.zisˈtɛn.t͡sa/ and /re.sisˈtɛn.t͡sa/, with a voiced or a voiceless s.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 15, 865
3. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f 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 Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
9. ^ a b c d e f Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
10. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
11. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli