richiesta

Forms

richiesta f (plural richieste)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian richesta and Old Italian rinchiesta.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is the feminine of richiesto, the past participle of richiedere (“to ask for, request”), used as a noun.^[2][4][5][6] The verb is formed from chiedere with the intensive prefix ri-, on the model of Vulgar Latin *requaerere.^[2][5] Wiktionary takes the Vulgar Latin verb from Latin requīrō (“to seek again; to require”), with /r/–/r/ dissimilated to /d/–/r/; the classical verb gave the learned requisire.^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini, Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti date the word to the 12th century.^[4][6][7] DELI's first examples are of richesta in Bono Giamboni's Vizi e virtù, before 1292, and in the Novellino at the end of the 13th century, where a friend grants the hermit's request (L'amico fornì la richèsta del romito).^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Dante in the Convivio praises the prudent man who gives advice without being asked (sanza richesta).^[3] The sense of a formal petition appears as rinchiesta in the statute of the Sienese wool guild of 1298–1309, and as richiesta in Giovanni Villani before 1348;^[2] Boccaccio uses the word in 1348–1353.^[2]

Later uses came with modern institutions: a request for a repeat performance (Tommaseo, 1872), the written application for a document (Petrocchi, 1891), and in 1959 the form on which it is made and the price or fee asked for something.^[2] In economics richiesta is the demand for goods or labour.^[5][7]

Timeline

• 12th century – Nocentini's date for the word.^[4]
• Before 1292 – Richesta in Bono Giamboni.^[2]
• 1298–1309 – Rinchiesta “petition” in the Sienese wool guild statute.^[2]
• Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses richiesta.^[2]
• 1872 – Tommaseo records a request for a repeat performance.^[2]
• 1891 – Petrocchi records the bureaucratic application.^[2]
• 1959 – The senses “application form” and “price asked” are recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A request, the act of asking for something, and the thing asked for: La sua richiesta di aiuto è rimasta senza risposta.^[5][7][8]
2. demand for goods or services: In estate cresce la richiesta di gelati.^[5][7][6]
3. The price or fee asked: Il venditore ha abbassato la sua richiesta.^[5][7][8]
4. A question asking for information.^[5][9]
5. (bureaucracy) A written application for a document or permit, and the form on which it is made.^[5][6][10]

Related words

• richiedere
• chiedere
• richiesto

Usage notes

A richiesta and su richiesta mean on request;^[6][8][10] a grande richiesta means by popular demand, and a fermata a richiesta is a request stop.^[6][8][10]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
4. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
10. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana