sollievo

Forms

sollievo m (plural sollievi)^[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from Italian sollevare (“to lift; to relieve”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The verb is from Latin sublevāre (“to lift from the ground; to lighten, console”), formed from Latin sub- + levō (“to lift”).^[2][3][1]

The first form was sollevo, in 1636, and the present form followed in 1671.^[2] Devoto explains the ⟨ie⟩ of the present form as the diphthong of the stressed open vowel of the old deverbal noun.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is sollevo in G. F. Loredano (1636), and sollievo in Francesco Redi (1671), both meaning the easing of physical or mental suffering.^[2] GRADIT gives 1636 for the sense of something that brings material comfort.^[4] The records of Fra Giordano and of a book on the care of illnesses, which the Crusca and Tommaseo cite and DEI follows for a 14th-century date, are forgeries.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century the word also meant help or relief from a burden or a tax: a 17th-century author writes that the people would receive sollievo from such charges.^[9] Redi uses it of the remedies that bring no relief from viper bites.^[10]

Today it means relief from pain, discomfort, worry or poverty, and the comfort that comes with it.^[4][6] The common phrase tirare un sospiro di sollievo “to heave a sigh of relief” means to feel freed from a worry.^[4][5][11] In literary use it can also mean a raised part, a rise.^[6]

Timeline

• 1636 – G. F. Loredano writes sollevo.^[2]
• 1671 – Francesco Redi uses the form sollievo.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. relief from physical pain, discomfort or tiredness: Un po' d'ombra fu un sollievo dopo la lunga salita.^[4][6][11]
2. comfort, consolation in mental distress: Le sue lettere sono state un gran sollievo per la madre.^[4][5][12]
3. An improvement in someone's living conditions, relief from hardship or poverty.^[4]
4. (literary) A rise, a raised part.^[6]

Related words

• sollevare
• levare
• sollevamento
• Latin sublevō

Usage notes

Older and variant forms are sollevo, solievo and soglievo.^[9] The fixed phrase tirare un sospiro (or un respiro) di sollievo is very common.^[5][11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d 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 c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3538
9. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli