salva

Forms

salva f (plural salve)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French salve (1559) according to DELI, Nocentini, DEI and Zingarelli, from Latin salvē (“hail, greetings”), since the volley was fired as a salute.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} GRADIT, Devoto–Oli, Treccani and Gabrielli take it instead as borrowed from Spanish salva, recorded from 1595, from the same Latin word.^{[7][8][9][10][1]} Migliorini thought the French word itself probably came from Spanish.^[2][11]

The Latin greeting is the imperative of salveō (“to be well”), from salvus (“safe, sound”).^[1][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in A. Sozzini, before 1608: salva di archibusate ed artigliaria (“a salvo of arquebus shots and artillery”), fired in honour or celebration.^[2][11] GRADIT dates the word to 1614 and DEI to 1630, in Davila, while DIFIT gives 1566 for the sense.^[7][5][13]

Semantic evolution

A salva was fired with powder only, to greet a ruler, a guest or a victory, and Tommaseo describes it as a salute of artillery in honour of places and great persons.^[14][11] From the 1580s it is also a volley of live fire at one target, and later the release of several bombs from an aircraft or submarine.^[13][7]

The figurative sense, a burst of applause or whistles, is recorded in the Milanese press in 1833, after French salve had taken it in 1792.^[2] The phrase a salve, with blanks, has made salve a popular variant of the noun.^[8][9] English took the word as salua, now salvo, in 1591.^[13]

Timeline

• 1559 – French salve is recorded.^[2][7]
• 1591 – English borrows the word as salua, later salvo.^[13]
• 1595 – Spanish salva is recorded.^[7][2]
• Before 1608 – A. Sozzini writes of a salva of arquebuses and artillery.^[2]
• 1614 – GRADIT's date for the word.^[7]
• 1630 – Davila uses it.^[5]
• 1833 – The Milanese press uses it for a burst of applause or whistles.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A salute of shots fired at once by several guns loaded only with powder: una salva di ventun colpi accolse la regina.^[7][8][9]
2. (military) A salvo: shots fired at once by several guns at the same target.^[7][8][15]
3. (military) The release of several bombs at once from an aircraft or submarine.^[7][8]
4. (figurative) A sudden loud burst: una salva di risate.^[7][8][15]

Related words

• salve
• salvo

Usage notes

A salve (with blanks) is the usual form of the phrase, and the variant salve for the noun is common though less correct.^[8][9][10] Salva is also the feminine of salvo and a form of salvare (“she saves”, “save!”).^[15][16]

In Tuscan forestry salva is a standard tree left when a coppice is cut, recorded from 1959 and perhaps from the verb.^[7][9] An obsolete salva was the tasting of food and drink by a servant before they were served to the master, from Spanish salva.^[11][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3325
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ 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
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
10. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
11. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 17, 464
12. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
13. ^ a b c d Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
14. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
15. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
16. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca