Etymologically
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soluzione

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Pronunciation

  • /so.lutˈt͡sjo.ne/[1]

Forms

soluzione f (plural soluzioni)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin solūtiō (“a loosening; payment”), a learned word.[2][3][4][5] The Latin noun was formed from solūtus, the past participle of solvō (“to loosen, release; to pay”).[3][5][6][7] De Vaan explains the verb as a compound of sē- (“away”) and -luō (“to loosen”).[8] DEI compares Old French solucion of the 12th century, modern French solution.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Giovanni Villani's chronicle, before 1348, for the answer to a question: “the solution of our question is very clear”.[10][2][4] DEI also dates to the 14th century a medical use, soluzione di ventre “diarrhoea”, and the general sense “a loosening, dissolving”.[9]

Semantic evolution

The scholastic sense of answering a question or refuting an objection is common in the 14th century: Boccaccio, commenting on Dante, writes of the poet raising a doubt with Virgil and of its soluzion.[2] The mathematical sense, the result of a problem, appears with Niccolò Tartaglia in 1546, and the chemical one, a substance dissolved in a liquid, with Ferrante Imperato in 1599.[10] DEI dates the chemical definition as a mixture of a solid, liquid or gas in a liquid to the Italian Chambers of 1769.[9]

Giambattista Giraldi Cinzio used the word for the unravelling of a dramatic plot before 1573, and the general sense “settlement of a complication” is recorded from 1891.[10] The sense “payment of a debt” is in a document of 1549, though dictionaries record it only in 1950.[10] In the 20th century the Nazi euphemism for the genocide of the Jews was rendered soluzione finale.[5][11]

Timeline

  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses soluzione for the answer to a question.[10][4]
  • 1546 – Niccolò Tartaglia uses it for the solution of a mathematical problem.[10]
  • 1549 – A document uses it for the payment of a debt.[10]
  • Before 1573 – Giraldi Cinzio uses it for the resolution of a plot.[10]
  • 1599 – Ferrante Imperato uses it in chemistry.[10]
  • 1769 – The Italian Chambers defines the chemical solution.[9]
  • 1891 – The general sense “settling of a complication” is recorded.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (chemistry) The dissolving of one substance in another, usually a liquid.[4][12] A homogeneous mixture of a solvent and one or more dissolved substances: una soluzione di acqua e bicarbonato.[4][13][12][11]
  2. The solution of a question, problem or difficulty, and the answer itself: Abbiamo cercato a lungo la soluzione dell'indovinello.[4][5][13]
  3. (mathematics) A value of the unknown that satisfies an equation or system of equations.[4][12]
  4. A way out, a remedy; a technical or design solution: Per il traffico in centro non vedo altra soluzione.[5][12]
  5. The settlement of a dispute.[5][12]
  6. (commerce) payment of a sum: pagare in un'unica soluzione, to pay in a single instalment.[4][13]
  7. Senza soluzione di continuità: without a break, continuously.[4][1]

Word family

  • soluzionare
  • soluzionista

Usage notes

GDLI records a separate obsolete soluzione “absolution of sins”, a clipped form of assoluzione.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  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 h i 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. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  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 Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3538
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  14. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 19, 362