soldo

Forms

soldo m (plural soldi)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin soldus, the shortened form of Latin solidus (“solid, massive”) used as a noun, with nummus (“coin”) understood: a coin of solid gold.^{[2][3][4][1][5]} Nocentini adds that the solidus was a gold coin of stable value put into circulation by Constantine in the 4th century.^[3][6] The same word is French sou, Occitan sol, Catalan sou, Spanish sueldo and Portuguese soldo, and Sardinian soddu in Logudorese.^[3][7]

De Vaan derives the Latin adjective from the root of Latin salvus (“whole, safe”) and sollus (“whole”), Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- (“whole”), and finds a link with soleō (“to be accustomed”) unlikely.^[8][1] Wiktionary makes the Italian word a doublet of solido and sodo, and probably of saldo.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Medieval Latin soldus is recorded at Cavarzere in 1183, and a man called Wilinzone Cento Soldi appears in a Medieval Latin document of Chioggia in 1137.^[2] The first Italian record is in the Breve di Montieri of 1219, for the coin worth twelve denari and a twentieth of the lira.^[2][9]

Semantic evolution

In 1305–06 Giordano da Pisa uses soldo for the pay of a mercenary, the sense behind soldato “soldier”, and later writers use it for military service.^[2][10][11] The coin changed value through the centuries, and in Italy the soldo was five centesimi, a twentieth of the lira, until the Second World War.^[4][12]

The plural soldi came to mean money in general.^[2][4] Its low value gave phrases such as da quattro soldi “cheap, worthless”, non valere un soldo and alto quanto un soldo di cacio “very short”.^[4][13][12] French took solde “pay” (1430) from Italian, and English soldo for the Italian coin is recorded from 1596.^[9]

Timeline

• 1137 – The name Cento Soldi appears in a Medieval Latin document of Chioggia.^[2]
• 1183 – Medieval Latin soldus is recorded at Cavarzere.^[2]
• 1219 – The Breve di Montieri has Italian soldo.^[2]
• 1305–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses it for a mercenary's pay.^[2]
• 1430 – French solde “pay” is recorded.^[9]
• 15th century – The diminutive soldino appears.^[3]
• 1596 – English soldo is first recorded.^[9]
• 1957 – In soldoni “in plain terms” is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (historical, numismatics) A medieval European coin derived from the Late Roman solidus, worth a twentieth of a lira.^[4][12][14]
2. (historical) The Italian coin of five centesimi, a twentieth of a lira, in use until the Second World War.^[4][14]
3. (chiefly in the plural) money: ha speso tutti i soldi in vacanza.^[4][15][1]
4. A tiny sum, nothing, usually with a negative: non vale un soldo.^[4][1]
5. (historical) The pay of a soldier;^[2][4][14] al soldo di “in the pay of”.^[2][4][14]

Word family

• soldato
• soldino
• soldone
• assoldare
• soprassoldo

Related words

• saldo
• solido
• sodo
• French sou
• Latin solidus

Usage notes

The fixed phrase da quattro soldi means “cheap, of little value”, and in soldoni means “put simply”.^[1][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3532
11. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 927
12. ^ 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
13. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli