rovina

Forms

rovina f (plural rovine)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin ruīna (“fall, collapse; debris; disaster”), through the older form ruina.^[2][3][4][1] The ⟨v⟩ was inserted to break the hiatus between the two vowels, as in Genova, vedova, cavolo and manovale.^{[2][3][5][6][7]} The word belongs to western Romance: French ruine and Spanish ruina are the same Latin noun.^[5][8][9]

ruīna is formed from ruō (“to rush; to tumble down”) with the suffix -īna.^[10][1] Already in classical Latin the plural meant “ruined buildings”.^[2] Nocentini finds no sure comparisons for ruō outside Latin, while de Vaan derives it from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reu- (“to run, hurry”), and Devoto points to a root vaguely attested in Baltic, Slavic and Indic.^[3][11][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Bono Giamboni, before 1292, as ruina, for the remains of ruined buildings.^[2][4][3] The sense of the act of collapsing is found around 1300 in the Italian translation of Albertano da Brescia, where it is said that he who fears ruin does not easily perish by it.^[2][12]

Semantic evolution

Dante uses ruina for fallen masses of rock, and in Old Italian the word also meant fury and violent force, as in Giovanni Villani's river coming down from the Apennines con gran ruina.^[2][12][13] Boccaccio has the old form ruvine for ruins.^[14] In Old Milanese rovina meant “a great quantity”.^[5][8]

The form rovina prevails in the Florentine edicts of 1532–1774, while ruina became literary.^[2][15] The figurative senses grew in the Renaissance: the collapse of institutions and states in Machiavelli, the cause of someone's undoing also in Machiavelli, and grave economic or moral ruin in Vespasiano da Bisticci.^[2] In painting, rovina became the name of a genre depicting ancient ruins, fashionable from the 16th to the 18th century.^[4][15][16]

Timeline

• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ruina for ruins.^[2]
• About 1300 – The translation of Albertano has the sense “collapse”.^[2]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses ruina for fallen rock.^[2]
• Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses the verb rovinare.^[2]
• Before 1498 – Vespasiano da Bisticci uses the word for grave damage.^[2]
• Before 1527 – Machiavelli uses it for the downfall of states.^[2]
• 1532–1774 – The Florentine edicts use rovina.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The collapse or destruction of a building or structure: La frana causò la rovina del ponte.^[4][15][17]
2. Heavy destruction caused by natural forces.^[4]
3. (chiefly plural) rubble, the debris of something that has collapsed or been demolished; the ruins of ancient buildings: le rovine di Ostia.^[4][15][17]
4. (painting) A genre depicting ancient ruins, or a painting of that genre.^[4][15]
5. (figurative) Downfall, decay or collapse of an institution, a reputation or a family; financial ruin.^[4][15][17]
6. (figurative) A person or thing that causes great harm; one's undoing: Il vino fu la sua rovina.^[4][15][17]
7. (literary) Fury, violent and overwhelming force.^[4][15][18]

Word family

• rovinare
• rovinio
• rovinoso
• rovinaccio

Related words

• ruina
• Latin ruīna
• French ruine

Usage notes

Common phrases are in rovina (in ruins, and ruined), andare in rovina (to go to ruin) and mandare in rovina (to ruin).^[4][18] The literary form ruina is still used in poetry.^[15][17] Rovina is also a form of the verb rovinare (“(he/she) ruins”).^[19]

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 n o 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3290
6. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ a b 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
14. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 17, 169
15. ^ a b c d e f g h i Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
16. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
17. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
18. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
19. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org