schiavo

Forms

schiavo (feminine schiava, masculine plural schiavi, feminine plural schiave)^[1] The popular Tuscan form is stiavo.^[2][3][4] Old texts also have sciavo.^[5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin sclavus (“Slav; slave”).^[6][7][8] Nocentini takes the Latin word from Byzantine Greek σκλάβος (sklábos, “slave”), drawn from Σκλαβηνός (Sklabēnós, “Slav”), an adaptation of Old Church Slavonic словѣнинъ (slověninŭ, “Slav”).^[7][1] The /k/ inserted in the group /sl/ is found in the Greek forms too;^[6][2] DEI explains it by the rarity of that consonant group.^[6][2]

The word took the sense “slave” because many slaves sold in the West were Slavs.^[6][7] In the 10th and 11th centuries Slav peoples of the Balkans, partly under Byzantium and partly under Germanic kingdoms, supplied slaves to the West, and the Venetians continued the trade after the first Crusades; since the Church forbade the enslavement of Christians, pagan Slavs were the people from whom slaves could still be taken.^[7] DELI dates the sense “slave” to Germany in the 10th and 11th centuries, and to Italy in the 13th century, when Slav slaves were imported from south-eastern Europe and the Black Sea coasts.^[6] Zaccaria reports the older view of Diez, who took the Latin word from Middle High German, and Kluge's derivation from the Byzantine name of the Slavs.^[9]

The same word is French esclave, Old Occitan esclau, Spanish esclavo, Portuguese escravo, German Sklave and English slave.^[7][9] slavo and ciao are doublets; the second comes from the greeting Venetian s'ciavo (“(your) slave”).^[1][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first Italian record is in Chiaro Davanzati, of the 13th century, who says that thinking of his lady made him “marquis and slave” (marchese / e schiavo).^[6][5] Earlier Medieval Latin records are Sclavos, written in Greek letters in Calabria in 1188, perhaps still an ethnic name, and sclavus in a treaty between Genoa and Pavia of 1251.^[6] Prati finds men called Sclabus in the Chronicle of Volturno in 968, and sclava in Italy in 1088.^[11]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used the word for a person owned by another, and Dante speaks of corsairs who sell their female slaves (come fanno i corsar de l'altre schiave).^[5] The figurative sense, someone bound by a subjection that limits his freedom, is recorded before 1535 in Berni.^[6] The older sense “Slav, of Slavonia” survived in literature, as in Ariosto's il mar schiavo, the Adriatic.^[8][4]

Schiavo suo and schiavo vostro were respectful greetings of Venetian origin, used by Goldoni, and the modern ciao comes from them.^[3][4][10] The derivatives followed the debates on slavery: schiavitudine is recorded in 1612, schiavitù in 1674, schiavista in 1864.^[6] In engineering schiavo describes a device controlled by another one in a servo system.^[8][12] In the Venetian dialects s'ciavo is also the cockroach.^[2]

Timeline

• 968 – Men named Sclabus appear in the Chronicle of Volturno.^[11]
• 1088 – Medieval Latin sclava is recorded in Italy.^[11]
• 1251 – Sclavus appears in a treaty between Genoa and Pavia.^[6]
• 13th century – Chiaro Davanzati uses schiavo.^[6]
• 1311 – Venetian sclava “female slave” is recorded.^[6]
• Before 1535 – Berni uses the word figuratively.^[6]
• 1612 – Schiavitudine “slavery” is recorded.^[6]
• 1674 – Schiavitù is recorded.^[6]
• 1864 – Schiavista is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A slave: a person who is the legal property of another and has no rights: Nell'antica Roma molti schiavi lavoravano nei campi.^[8][3][10]
2. (figurative) A person wholly subject to someone else's will: Si sente lo schiavo del suo capo.^[8][3][10]
3. (archaic) In respectful greetings: schiavo vostro!^[8][3][4]

Adjective

1. Not free; without political freedom or independence: un paese rimasto schiavo per secoli.^[8][3][10]
2. (figurative) Dependent on a habit, vice or passion: È schiavo del telefono.^[8][3][10]
3. (engineering) Controlled by another device in a servomechanism.^[8][12]
4. (archaic) Slav, of Slavonia.^[8][10][4]

Word family

• schiavitù
• schiavismo
• schiavista
• schiavistico
• schiavizzare
• schiavesco
• schiavetto
• schiavina
• schiavitudine

Related words

• slavo
• ciao
• Medieval Latin sclavus

Usage notes

Alla schiava describes sandals laced above the ankle and a plain, heavy bracelet, after those worn by slaves.^[4][3][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3387
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 17
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b Zaccaria, Enrico (1901), L'elemento germanico nella lingua italiana: lessico con appendice e prospetto cronologico, Bologna: Treves
10. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ a b c Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 888
12. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana