ristretto

Forms

ristretto (feminine ristretta, masculine plural ristretti, feminine plural ristrette, superlative ristrettissimo)^[1] Old forms include rastretto, restretto, restritto and ristritto.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin restrictus (“bound tight; restricted”), the past participle of restringō (“to draw back, to bind tight”).^[3][4][5][1] The Latin verb is formed from stringō (“to draw tight”) with the prefix re- (“back”).^[6][3][7]

In Italian the word is the participle of ristringere, the popular outcome of the Latin verb, and is used as the participle of the learned restringere as well.^[8][3][9] GRADIT therefore numbers the word twice, once under each spelling of the verb.^[10] DELI treats both verbs as learned words.^[6] Under the Latin participle DELI also places the noun use, which is Italian.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest record is Genoese ristreito in the 13th-century Anonimo genovese.^[6][2] Dante has ristretto “drawn in, enclosed” before 1321, and GRADIT quotes his line on a mind so withdrawn into itself that nothing outside reached it.^[6][10]

Semantic evolution

Petrarch has the sense “reduced” before 1374.^[6] The figurative “strict, precise” is recorded in 1588, “narrow, cramped” before 1673, and “limited in amount” before 1586;^[6] “petty, narrow-minded” goes back to Bembo before 1547.^[6] Twentieth-century dictionaries add the pranzo ristretto kept to a few close friends and the mezzi ristretti that are not enough to live on.^[6]

As a noun, ristretto meant a summary from before 1539, and in ristretto “in a few words” is recorded in 1640; the German loan Ristretto in this sense (1806) is now obsolete.^[6][11] The sense “concentrated, not diluted” is recorded from 1863, and is the one in brodo ristretto and caffè ristretto.^[6][12] English borrowed the coffee sense as ristretto.^[1]

Timeline

• 13th century – Genoese ristreito appears in the Anonimo genovese.^[6]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses ristretto “enclosed”.^[6]
• Before 1374 – Petrarch uses it for “reduced”.^[6]
• Before 1539 – The noun “summary” is recorded.^[6][11]
• Before 1547 – Bembo uses it for “petty, narrow-minded”.^[6]
• 1640 – In ristretto “in a few words” is recorded.^[6]
• 1806 – German Ristretto “summary” is recorded.^[11]
• 1863 – The sense “concentrated” is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. narrow, cramped: having little room: un ingresso ristretto; also crowded into too small a space.^[10][4][12]
2. Shut in, enclosed: un borgo ristretto fra le colline.^[10][13]
3. limited, small in number or amount; open only to a few: un ristretto gruppo di amici, comitato ristretto.^[10][4][12]
4. Scarce, insufficient: mezzi ristretti.^[10][14]
5. Restricted to one field; literal, in the narrow sense: in senso ristretto.^[10][4]
6. (figurative) Narrow-minded, petty: idee ristrette.^[10][4][12]
7. Of a sauce, broth or coffee, concentrated, reduced: caffè ristretto, an espresso made with less water.^[10][12][1]
8. Of a price, as low as possible.^[10][14]

Noun

1. A ristretto, a short espresso.^[1]
2. A summary or compendium; a book that sets out a subject in brief.^[10][15]
3. A clear concentrated broth like a consommé.^[1]

Word family

• ristrettezza
• ristrettamente

Related words

• ristringere
• restringere
• stretto
• restrizione
• Latin restrictus

Usage notes

Teoria della relatività ristretta is the special theory of relativity.^[10][4] In ristretto means “in short”.^[4][13]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 16, 893
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
5. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3265
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
9. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
12. ^ a b c d e 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
14. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET