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sorveglianza

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word sorveglianza

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1787
Ultimate origin
French surveiller

Pronunciation

  • /sor.veʎˈʎan.t͡sa/[1]

Forms

sorveglianza f (plural sorveglianze)[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian sorvegliare + -anza, on the model of French surveillance.[2][3][4][5] The verb was itself borrowed in 1812 from surveiller (1586), a compound of sur- (“over”) and veiller (“to keep watch”).[6][7][2] DELI dates the French noun to 1633, with a query.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT and Zingarelli date the word to 1787.[2][8] DELI's first record is in the Milanese press of 1807, in the sense “the act of keeping watch”.[6]

Semantic evolution

The noun is recorded a few years before the verb.[6][2] Melchiorre Delfico and Ugo Foscolo use it for the watch a government keeps over its subjects.[9] Tommaseo–Bellini marks it as a word to avoid.[10]

In law sorveglianza speciale is a preventive measure imposed on people held to be dangerous, with duties such as staying at home at night, and the magistrato di sorveglianza (formerly giudice di sorveglianza) supervises the prisons and the execution of sentences.[3][5][9] The word also covers the watch kept over children or people in one's care, and the staff who keep watch.[2][5]

Timeline

  • 1787 – First record according to GRADIT.[2]
  • 1807 – The word appears in the Milanese press.[6]
  • 1812 – The verb sorvegliare is recorded.[6]
  • 1986 – The giudice di sorveglianza is renamed magistrato di sorveglianza.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. surveillance: watch kept by the police or the authorities over suspects or prisoners to prevent breaches of the law: Il detenuto è riuscito a eludere la sorveglianza.[2][3][4]
  2. supervision: watch over people or things in one's care: Le hanno affidato la sorveglianza dei bambini in cortile.[2][5][11]
  3. The staff who keep watch.[5]
  4. (law) In sorveglianza speciale, a preventive measure imposed on a person considered dangerous.[2][3][8]
  • sorvegliare
  • telesorveglianza
  • vegliare
  • French surveillance

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  5. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  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. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  9. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 19, 515
  10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
Cite this entry

“Sorveglianza.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/sorveglianza. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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