salvamento

Forms

salvamento m (plural salvamenti)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin salvāmentum, a word of Church Latin, formed from salvō (“to save”) with the suffix -mentum.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Zingarelli and the GDLI call it a learned word, while Wiktionary treats it as inherited; in Italian terms it is salvare with -mento.^[3][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI notes the word already in a Pisan naval account of 1080–1130, probably meaning “custody” or “recovery, repair”.^[6] Its sense of saving or being saved is recorded before 1294, in Guittone d'Arezzo.^[6] Zingarelli dates it to 1268, GRADIT to before 1320.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the word meant rescue from a grave danger, and also the state of safety reached after it, often in the phrases a salvamento and in salvamento.^[8] Cavalca and the Navigazione di San Brandano use it of people who reach the shore or their monastery safely.^[8] In a religious sense it was the salvation of the soul, as in Dante's line Questo vi basti a vostro salvamento (“Let this suffice for your salvation”).^[9][10]

In the 19th century Tommaseo–Bellini offered it, as in battello di salvamento (lifeboat), as the Italian word for salvataggio, which it called a barbarism.^[9] That word has nonetheless won, and in the sense of rescue salvamento is now rare except in swimming, where nuoto per salvamento is a sport of lifesaving events.^[10][3] On the railways a binario di salvamento is a runaway track that stops a train going downhill too fast.^[3]

Timeline

• 1080–1130 – The word appears in a Pisan naval account, probably meaning “custody” or “repair”.^[6]
• 1268 – Zingarelli's date of first record.^[3]
• Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses it for saving or being saved.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of saving or being saved from a danger to life; rescue, safety: condurre a salvamento, to bring to safety.^{[7][11][5][10]}
2. (sport) Lifesaving: the discipline and sport of water rescue techniques (nuoto per salvamento).^{[7][11][3][10]}
3. (figurative) Deliverance from sin; salvation of the soul.^[7][11][5]

Related words

• salvare
• salvo
• salvezza
• salvazione
• salvataggio

Usage notes

Salvamento is uncommon today; salvataggio and salvezza are the usual words.^[12][3] Binario di salvamento is the railway term for a runaway track.^[7][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
5. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 17, 468
9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana