Etymologically
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scopo

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Pronunciation

Forms

scopo m (plural scopi)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Late Latin scŏpus (“target; aim”), recorded in Suetonius.[2][3][4][5][1] Nocentini instead calls it a modern loan straight from Greek.[6] The Latin word is borrowed from Ancient Greek σκοπός (skopós, “mark, aim; watcher”), from the root of σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, “to look at”), which also gives scettico and episcopo.[2][6][7][1] The Greek verb continues Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- (“to observe”) with the consonants transposed, and Latin speciō (“to look”) is related.[1][8]

It is a learned word everywhere: Spanish escopo and Portuguese escopo.[9] The English word scope, recorded from the 1530s, comes from the Italian word.[8][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Giovan Battista Gelli, 1562–1563, for the end or intention that a whole course of action aims at.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Serdonati, in the 16th century, wrote that living by noble thoughts is lo scopo e 'l fine degli animi veramente nobili (“the aim and end of truly noble souls”).[11][12] The concrete sense “target” is in Galileo, who wrote of shots aimed allo scopo orientale (“at the eastern target”).[12][3] Surveyors used the word for the piece of paper fixed to the top of the staffs when levelling, and later for the sliding board, painted in squares, on a levelling staff.[12][3][13]

In artillery falso scopo is a point aimed at in indirect fire, and figuratively a decoy aim that hides the real one.[14][15] English borrowed the word early: scope meant an artist's design or a speaker's intent in 1536, an aim about 1535, and a target in 1562.[10][8]

Timeline

  • c. 1535 – English scope is recorded for “aim, purpose”.[10]
  • 1536 – English scope is used for an artist's design.[10]
  • 1562–1563 – Giovan Battista Gelli uses scopo for “aim”.[2]
  • 17th century – Galileo uses scopo for a target.[3]
  • Before 1840 – Scopo is recorded as the name of a bird genus.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An aim, purpose or intention: Sono venuto con lo scopo di chiarire la situazione.[4][5][7]
  2. The person or thing one lives or works for: Quella bambina era diventata lo scopo della sua vita.[7][13][15]
  3. (surveying) The sliding target, painted in squares, on a levelling staff.[4][5][13]
  4. (archaic) A target, now only in falso scopo.[5][7][14]

Word family

  • falsoscopo

Usage notes

Common phrases are allo scopo di (in order to), a scopo di lucro (for profit), a che scopo? (what for?) and senza scopo (aimless).[5][13][14] In grammar the complemento di scopo is the adverbial of purpose.[5][14]

A separate technical scopo, from New Latin Scopus (Greek “watcher”), is the genus of the hamerkop, an African bird.[4][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
  4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  12. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  13. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  14. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  15. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli