rilassare

Forms

rilassare (first-person singular present rilàsso, first-person singular past historic rilassài, past participle rilassàto, auxiliary avére)^[1] The older form is Old Italian relassare.^[2][3][4] The GDLI also records relasciare, relaxare and rilasare.^[5]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin relaxō (“to loosen, relieve”).^[2][6][7][1] The Latin verb is formed from re- and laxō (“to loosen, widen”), from laxus (“loose, wide”).^[8][9][1] Nocentini takes it from the Latin sense “to comfort, refresh, give relief”.^[6] De Vaan derives the adjective from Proto-Indo-European *slǵ-so- (“weak, faint”).^[10]

The inherited outcome of the same Latin verb is rilasciare.^[7] GRADIT treats the learned verb as a variant of it, and the GDLI notes that forms with the ⟨sci⟩ sound are Tuscan.^[3][5] Devoto sees a crossing with lasciare.^[11] The Latin verb also gave French relaxer and Spanish relajar.^[6]

The reflexive sense “to relax, unwind” was taken from English relax in the 20th century, as Tagliavini noted in 1960.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is figurative, “to make less rigid or strict”, in Bono Giamboni before 1292.^[2][4] The physical sense “to loosen, slacken” is in Domenico Cavalca, before 1342, in the form relassare; the form rilassare is first in Florio, 1598.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Cavalca also used relassare for God forgiving or releasing a sinner and for loosening the tongues of slanderers.^[12] Renaissance medicine used the verb for loosening the tone of tissues or the bowels.^[5] The intransitive rilassarsi “to grow slack, decline”, of morals or discipline, is in Carlo Borromeo, before 1584, and rilassamento of morals in Segneri, 1673.^[2]

The modern reflexive rilassarsi, “to relax, unwind”, is recent: Sabatini–Coletti dates it to 1913, while DELI's record is from 1960, when Tagliavini described it as taken from English.^[7][2] In science the verb also means to subject to rilassamento.^[3][9]

Timeline

• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses the verb figuratively.^[2][4]
• Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses relassare.^[2][3]
• Mid-14th century – Rilassamento appears in the Scala del Paradiso.^[2]
• Before 1584 – Carlo Borromeo uses rilassarsi “to grow slack”.^[2]
• 1598 – The form rilassare appears in Florio.^[2]
• 1913 – Sabatini–Coletti's date for the reflexive “to relax”.^[7]
• 1960 – Tagliavini comments on the new reflexive sense.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To relax, loosen the tension of the muscles or the body: rilassare le spalle dopo la corsa.^[3][8][7]
2. To ease nervous or emotional tension; also used without an object: un bagno caldo rilassa.^[3][8][9]
3. (figurative) To make discipline or a rule less strict: rilassare i controlli.^[3][8][7]
4. (science) To subject to rilassamento.^[3][9]
5. (reflexive) To relax, unwind: la sera mi rilasso leggendo.^[8][7][13]
6. (reflexive, figurative) To grow slack, decline morally: la disciplina si era rilassata.^[8][7][4]

Word family

• rilassamento
• rilassatezza
• rilassatore
• rilassante
• rilassato
• rilassazione

Related words

• rilasciare
• lasciare
• lassare
• Latin relaxō
• English relax

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 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 d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
6. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana