sguardo

Forms

sguardo m (plural sguardi)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian sguardare + -o, a noun formed from the verb, which is guardare with the intensive prefix s-.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} DELI and Treccani instead form it from guardo (“look”) with the same prefix.^[6][7] The Italian Wiktionary takes the verb from Old Occitan esgardar.^[8]

The base verb was borrowed from Proto-Germanic *wardōną (“to watch, to guard”), the source of Old High German wartēn and Old English weardian.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in the Sicilian poet Giacomino Pugliese, in the first half of the 13th century, in the sense “a look, a glance”.^[6][3][9] In the early love poets the lady's look is what wounds the lover: Guinizelli writes that her fair greeting and gentle look kill him when he meets her (“Lo vostro bel saluto e 'l gentil sguardo / che fate quando v'encontro, m'ancide”).^[9]

Semantic evolution

Dante uses the word for his sight following the souls in Paradise as the eye follows a falcon in flight.^[9] The sense “view, outlook” is recorded before 1446, in Agnolo Pandolfini.^[6] The place name Bellosguardo, near Florence, keeps the old phrase bello sguardo for a spot with a fine view.^[10][3] The modern senses include the expression of the eyes, a quick reading of a text, and the eyes themselves.^[3][4][11]

Timeline

• First half of the 13th century – Giacomino Pugliese uses sguardi “glances”.^[6][9]
• Before 1446 – Agnolo Pandolfini uses sguardo for a view.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A look, the act of turning one's eyes to someone or something: Non mi ha degnato di uno sguardo.^[3][4][11]
2. A quick look, a glance; a quick reading: Dai uno sguardo a questa lettera.^[3][4][11]
3. The way one looks, an expression that shows a feeling: uno sguardo pieno di rabbia.^[3][4][11]
4. Sight; the eyes themselves: alzare or abbassare lo sguardo.^[3][4][7]
5. A view, a panorama: Dal castello si ha uno sguardo su tutta la valle.^[3][4][11]
6. (rare) Kindly attention, favour.^[3][10]

Related words

• guardare
• guardo
• sguardare
• occhiata

Usage notes

Al primo sguardo means “at first sight”.^[3][4][7]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ 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
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f 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 Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
8. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse