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rivista

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word rivista

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation, Semantic loan
First attested
1612, Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger
Ultimate origin
Latin videō

Pronunciation

  • /riˈvis.ta/[1]

Forms

rivista f (plural riviste)[1]

Etymology

It is the feminine past participle of rivedere (“to see again, review”), used as a noun.[2][3][4][5][6] Its main modern senses were modelled on French: the military “review, inspection” on French revue, and the sense “periodical” on the same French word, which itself took it from English review.[3][5][7][8] DEI notes that the word in the sense “act of reviewing” is a native Italian word, while the periodical is a translation of the English word, perhaps through French, and the military term certainly comes from French.[8] Sabatini–Coletti instead treats the periodical as a calque of the English word and the military review as one of the French word.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's earliest dates are in Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger: an inspection by an officer in 1612 and the act of looking something over again in 1618.[2] GRADIT and Zingarelli date the word to before 1595.[4][10]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th and 18th centuries rivista was an inspection or check of things, people or places, often in dare la rivista.[11][12] The military parade of troops before an authority is recorded from 1835, and the phrase passare in rivista, criticized by purists, gave the general sense of a methodical survey.[2][7]

The sense “periodical” appeared with the 19th-century press: a translation of 1828, then the titles Rivista europea and Rivista viennese in 1838;[2] Tommaseo marked it as taken from French.[2] Today it covers both a specialist journal and an illustrated magazine.[4][5] The theatrical rivista, a show of songs, dances and comic sketches, developed in the 1930s, recorded from 1931.[3][2]

Timeline

  • Before 1595 – GRADIT's date for the first record.[4]
  • 1612 – Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger uses rivista for an inspection.[2]
  • 1835 – The sense “military parade” is recorded.[2]
  • 1838 – Rivista europea and Rivista viennese use the word as a periodical's title.[2]
  • 1931 – Rivista is recorded for a variety show.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A magazine, especially a popular illustrated periodical: Ho comprato una rivista da leggere in aereo.[4][5][10][1]
  2. A journal or review, a specialist periodical in a particular field: una rivista di linguistica.[4][5][9]
  3. (military) A review: an inspection of troops and their equipment, or a parade of troops before an authority.[4][5][7]
  4. (theatre) A variety show of songs, dances and comic or satirical sketches.[4][9][10]
  5. (uncommon) A further check or quick revision: dare una rivista agli appunti.[4][5]

Word family

  • rivistaiolo

Usage notes

Passare in rivista means to inspect troops, and by extension to go through a set of facts or possibilities one by one.[7][5][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  8. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3269
  9. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  10. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
Cite this entry

“Rivista.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/rivista. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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