Etymologically
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revisione

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Pronunciation

  • /re.viˈzjo.ne/[1]

Forms

revisione f (plural revisioni)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Late Latin revīsiō (“a seeing again”), first recorded in the 5th century in Claudianus Mamertus.[2][3][4][5][1] The Latin noun is formed on the past participle of Latin revideō (“to see again; to visit again”), from re- and videō (“to see”).[2][6][7] videō goes back to Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see”), the root of Ancient Greek οἶδα (oîda, “I know”) and English wit.[7][1] The popular Italian verb from the same Latin source is rivedere.[4][1]

In its Marxist sense, revisionismo copies German Revisionismus (1903).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI and GRADIT date it before 1536, to the Venetian Marin Sanudo, who writes of the provedadori sora la revision di conti, the officials in charge of auditing public accounts.[2][4][8] DEI puts the first record in the 17th century.[9]

Semantic evolution

From the auditing of accounts the word spread to texts: Torquato Tasso wrote that he would not neglect “la revisione dell'opere mie” (the revision of my works), and Francesco Redi mentions a letter that lay with the Inquisitor “per la revisione”, for the censor's review.[5] Tommaseo also records it as a legal term.[5] The older literary form rivisione did not survive.[5][8]

The mechanical sense, the check and servicing of an engine, is recorded in 1959, and the periodic roadworthiness test of vehicles came later.[2][4] In music it names a modern edition that adapts an old score.[10][11] The derivatives are mostly modern: revisore “reviser, auditor” (before 1552, Paolo Giovio), revisionismo (1914–1915, Mussolini, of revising the post-war treaties; 1930 in the Marxist sense), revisionista (1942) and revisionare (1938), which the linguist Fochi called “horrible” in 1953.[2]

Timeline

  • 5th century – Late Latin revisio appears in Claudianus Mamertus.[2]
  • Before 1536 – Marin Sanudo writes of the revision di conti.[2][4]
  • Before 1552 – Revisore is recorded in Paolo Giovio.[2]
  • 1914–1915 – Revisionismo is used for the revision of treaties.[2]
  • 1938 – Revisionare is recorded.[2]
  • 1959 – Revisione di un motore appears in a dictionary.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A careful re-examination to find and correct mistakes; revision, review: La revisione del manoscritto ha richiesto tre mesi.[4][10][12][11][1]
  2. The check and maintenance of a machine or installation; overhaul, servicing: L'ascensore è fermo per revisione.[4][10][12][1]
  3. The compulsory periodic test of a motor vehicle's safety and emissions: La mia macchina deve fare la revisione entro marzo.[4][1]
  4. (accounting) audit of accounts, as in revisione contabile.[4][13][1]
  5. (law) The extraordinary review of a final criminal conviction; also the revision of a contract, law or treaty.[4][13][12]
  6. (music) A critical edition of an old score adapted to modern notation and performance.[10][11][12]

Word family

  • revisore
  • revisionare
  • revisionismo
  • revisionista

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  9. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3239
  10. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  11. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  13. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana