Etymologically
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servizio

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Pronunciation

  • /serˈvit.t͡sjo/[1]

Forms

servizio m (plural servizi)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned borrowing, borrowed from Latin servitium (“slavery; the condition of a slave”), derived from servus (“slave”).[2][3][4][1] Nocentini treats servigio together with this word and sees that variant as the northern outcome of the same Latin noun;[5] Meyer-Lübke instead took that variant from Old Occitan servizi.[6] The Latin word continues in Old French serviz, French service, Old Occitan servezi, Spanish servicio and Portuguese serviço.[6][3][1] Its use for the opening stroke in tennis and similar sports is a calque of English service.[7][8][4]

Devoto analysed the Latin noun as an abstract of the word for slave with a suffix ⟨-itium⟩ taken from words like initium.[9] De Vaan, following Rix, reconstructs Proto-Italic *serwo- (“shepherd, guardian”), which in Italy came down in the world to mean “slave” between about 700 and 450 BC; the root would be that of Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to watch over”).[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Sardinian form serviziu appears in the Condaghi of the 12th century, and the first Italian record of servizio is in Iacopone da Todi (before 1306), for the act of serving and the condition of a servant.[2][4] The oldest Sardinian examples concern the duties owed to a church or to a judge.[4]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the word belonged to the language of vassalage and courts: to be a servizio or in servizio di a lord meant to be in his pay or under his authority.[4] The sense “favour, kindness” is recorded in the 14th century, and the ironic un bel servizio! “a fine mess!” is in Manzoni's Fermo e Lucia (1821–1823).[2] The variant servigio served for many of the same senses and is now literary.[2][5][11]

Work as a domestic servant is recorded from 1673, in Paolo Segneri, and the work of an employee, especially in public service, from Galileo (before 1642).[2] In the 19th century servizio came to mean a set of tableware (1803) and an organized public service such as the postal or telegraph service, which Tommaseo found French in flavour (1873).[2][11] The journalist's report, nostro servizio particolare, dates from 1939, the opening stroke in tennis from 1937, and the plural servizi for the kitchen and bathroom of a flat from 1960.[2]

Timeline

  • 12th century – Sardinian serviziu appears in the Condaghi.[2]
  • Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses servizio.[2]
  • 14th century – The sense “favour” is recorded.[2]
  • Before 1642 – Galileo uses the word for an employee's work.[2]
  • 1673 – Paolo Segneri uses it for domestic service.[2]
  • 1803 – A servizio of tableware is recorded in the Milanese press.[2]
  • 1937 – The tennis sense appears in the Enciclopedia italiana.[2]
  • 1939 – Servizio is used for a newspaper report.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. service, devotion to a person, a cause or an ideal; in polite formulas, readiness to help: Ha messo la sua vita al servizio dei poveri.[12][13][8]
  2. Work for an employer, especially a public body; being on duty: Prende servizio alle otto e smonta a mezzanotte.[12][7][14]
  3. Domestic work in a private house: donna di servizio, a housemaid, scala di servizio, the back stairs.[12][7][15]
  4. The service in a bar, restaurant or hotel, and its charge: Il conto comprende il servizio.[12][14][8]
  5. (military) Service in the armed forces, and a single duty such as guard or patrol: servizio militare.[12][14][15]
  6. A favour, a good turn; ironically, a bad turn: Bel servizio mi ha fatto quel meccanico![8][2]
  7. A public service or utility organized by the State or another body, such as transport or health care.[2][1][16]
  8. A set of tableware: un servizio di piatti.[2][15]
  9. A newspaper, radio or television report.[2][13]
  10. (plural) The kitchen and bathroom of a flat; a bathroom.[2][1]
  11. (sports) The serve in tennis, volleyball and table tennis.[14][1]

Word family

  • disservizio
  • servizievole
  • serviziale

Usage notes

Fuori servizio means “off duty” of a person and “out of order” of a machine.[15] Servizio and servigio were once used interchangeably;[2][11] Tommaseo noted that in the ironic sense servizio was the commoner of the two.[2][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3465
  4. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 18, 781
  5. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c d Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  11. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  12. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  13. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  14. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  15. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  16. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org