riva

Forms

riva f (plural rive)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin rīpa (“river bank”), in its northern form, with /p/ voiced to /v/.^[2][3][4] Prati thought the word, much used in the literary language, may have come into it from northern Italy or from French rive (the French outcome); Wiktionary also allows influence from Gallo-Italic or Old French.^[5][1] The Tuscan outcome is ripa, which kept the sense of a steep bank, while the northern form came to mean the shore.^[2]

The Latin word also survives in Romansh riva, Sardinian riba, Spanish riba and Portuguese riba; in Romanian and Aromanian it came to mean a slope or ravine.^[6][7] Its derivatives Old Occitan ribaige and ribieira are the sources of rivaggio and riviera.^[6]

De Vaan traces the Latin word to Proto-Italic *reipā and PIE *h₁réyp-eh₂ (“steep slope”), from *h₁reyp- (“to tear, tear down”), comparing Ancient Greek ἐρείπω (ereípō, “to throw down”), ἐρίπνη (erípnē, “slope”) and Old Norse rífa (“to tear down”).^[8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Novellino, at the end of the 13th century, for the strip of land at the edge of the sea, a river or a lake.^[4][2] Zingarelli dates the word to 1282.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Dante used riva for the shore of the sea and for the edge of a circle of Hell (Noi ricidemmo il cerchio a l'altra riva).^[4][9] Petrarch used it for a region (sospirando vo di riva in riva) and for the end of life.^[10][11] Boccaccio kept ripa and riva apart by sense.^[5] In the north the word also means a steep slope, as in Pavese.^[9]

In cities on the sea or on rivers riva names a waterfront street, and in Venice the paved quays along the canals and the lagoon, such as the Riva degli Schiavoni.^[10][12] In the Middle Ages it was also a toll on landing and anchoring.^[10] English recorded riva in 1817 and German in 1876.^[13]

Timeline

• Late 13th century – First record, in the Novellino.^[4]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses the word for the sea shore.^[4]
• 1313–1319 – Dante uses it for an edge or rim.^[4]
• 1817 – English riva is recorded.^[13]
• 1876 – German Riva is recorded.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. The shore or bank of a sea, lake or river: Abbiamo tirato la barca a riva.^[10][12][14]
2. A waterfront street in a city on the sea or on a river; in Venice, a paved quay along a canal or the lagoon: Riva degli Schiavoni.^[10][12][14]
3. (chiefly plural) The land along a body of water: le rive del lago.^[12][14][15]
4. (literary) An edge or rim.^[10][14][9]
5. (literary, northern) A steep slope.^[10][9][15]
6. (poetic) A place, region.^[10][14][15]
7. (figurative, literary) The end of something: giungere a riva.^[10][9]
8. (historical) A medieval toll on landing, anchoring or goods arriving by sea.^[10]
9. (theatre) A long, low strip of scenery painted with a balustrade, low wall or landscape.^[10]

Word family

• controriva
• rivetta

Related words

• ripa
• riviera
• rivaggio
• arrivare
• Latin rīpa
• French rive

Usage notes

The nautical riva of a riva! and abbasso da riva!, commands to climb or come down the masts, and of vele a riva, is a separate word for the highest part of a ship: it comes from Spanish arriba “up”, influenced by riva “shore”.^[10][14][16]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ 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 Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
14. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
16. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca