sporta

Forms

sporta f (plural sporte)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin sporta (“basket, hamper”), which came through Etruscan from Ancient Greek σπυρίδα (spurída), the accusative of σπυρίς (spurís, “plaited basket with two handles”).^[2][3][4][5] Nocentini explains the Latin form by the Etruscan step: the Greek ⟨υ⟩ became ⟨o⟩, the inner vowel was lost and ⟨d⟩ became ⟨t⟩.^[3] Devoto posited Etruscan *spurta and took the Latin ⟨o⟩ for a reaction against the Etruscan vowel.^[6] Wiktionary's Latin entry instead derives the Latin word from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to twist, turn”).^[1]

The same Latin word is Occitan esporta, Catalan esporta, Spanish espuerta, Portuguese esporta and Sardinian isporta, but not French.^[3][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Onesto da Bologna, before 1303, for a large bag with two handles.^[2][4] In Old Italian it was a basket of rushes, straw or palm leaves, and Dante's Convivio speaks of the “full baskets” (le sporte piene) of bread left over.^[9][10]

Semantic evolution

Sporta long served to translate Latin cophinus in the Gospel feeding of the five thousand, where twelve baskets were left over (Boccaccio: avanzonne dodici sporte).^[11][9] In the 16th century Gelli was criticised for calling a comedy La Sporta, a name thought too vulgar and low.^[2]

The sense “bagful” is dated to 1614–1617 (Tassoni).^[2] The basket became the two-handled shopping bag of straw, cloth or plastic.^[4][11] DEI notes that the dialects use the word little (Tuscany says corbello), and records the sportina di Pasqua, a Florentine Easter cake (1887).^[8]

Timeline

• Before 1303 – Onesto da Bologna uses sporta.^[2]
• 14th century – The diminutive sportella is recorded.^[8]
• 16th century – Gelli's comedy La Sporta is censured for its title.^[2]
• 1614–1617 – Tassoni uses sporta for “bagful”.^[2]
• 1755 – Gozzi uses sportaiolo, a basket-carrier.^[12]
• 1887 – The Florentine sportina di Pasqua is recorded.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A shopping bag: a roomy bag with two handles, of straw, wicker, cloth or plastic, used especially for daily shopping: Tornò dal mercato con la sporta colma di verdura.^{[4][13][14][1]}
2. A bagful: una sporta di arance.^[4][13][14]
3. (figurative) A great quantity: un sacco e una sporta “heaps, loads”.^{[4][13][15][16]}
4. (historical) A wicker basket formerly used to carry farm produce and food.^[4][11]

Word family

• sportina
• sportella
• sportello
• sportaiolo
• sportata

Related words

• Latin sporta
• Ancient Greek σπυρίς (spurís)

Usage notes

Cappello a sporta is a hat with a very wide brim.^[15] Sporta is also the feminine of sporto, the past participle of sporgere.^[14][17]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 c 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. ^ 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. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3602
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, 1011
10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
12. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 942
13. ^ 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
14. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
16. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
17. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org