ricalcare

Forms

ricalcare (first-person singular present ricàlco, first-person singular past historic ricalcài, past participle ricalcàto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

DELI and Zingarelli take it as learned: it is borrowed from Late Latin recalcāre (“to tread down again”), formed from re- (“again”) and calcō (“to tread, press”).^[2][3][4][1] Nocentini and GDLI instead see it as formed in Italian from calcare with the prefix ri-.^[5][6] Devoto mixes the two: the Latin verb crossed with the Italian prefix.^[7]

The Latin simple verb is formed from calx (“heel”).^[1][4][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is from Leonardo da Vinci (before 1519), in the sense “to tread again, or harder”;^[2][3][9] Zingarelli dates the verb before 1463, GRADIT to 1581.^[2][3][9]

Semantic evolution

Tasso wrote of footprints ricalcate on the way back, and the phrase ricalcare le orme, “to follow in someone's footsteps”, was also used figuratively, as by Alfieri.^[10][11][12] In metalworking the verb meant to hammer a piece lengthwise to thicken it.^[10][3]

The sense “to copy a drawing by tracing” is recorded in 1868, after the simple calcare had been used for it from about 1537.^[2][8] Carducci used it figuratively, “to imitate, reproduce”, in 1858.^[2] The noun ricalco “tracing” dates from 1936.^[2]

Timeline

• Before 1519 – Leonardo da Vinci uses ricalcare.^[2]
• 1858 – Carducci uses it for “to imitate”.^[2]
• 1868 – Carena–Sargent's dictionary records the sense “to trace a drawing”.^[2]
• 1936 – The noun ricalco is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To tread again; to go back along (a path): ricalcare le orme, to follow in someone's footsteps.^[9][12][3]
2. To press harder or further: si ricalcò il berretto sulla fronte, he pulled his cap down on his forehead.^[9][12][13]
3. To trace a drawing or writing on tracing or carbon paper.^[9][12][14]
4. (figurative) To follow a model closely, imitate.^[9][12][3]
5. (metallurgy) To upset a metal piece, hammering it to make it thicker or more compact.^[9][3][15]

Word family

• ricalco
• ricalcamento
• ricalcatoio
• ricalcatura
• ricalcabile

Related words

• calcare
• calcagno
• Latin calx

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 370
8. ^ a b Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 9, 919
9. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
12. ^ 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
13. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
14. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli