squadra

Forms

squadra f (plural squadre)^[1] Old Italian forms include scatra, scuadra, sguadra and squara.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from the verb squadrare (“to square”) without a suffix.^[3][4][5][1] That verb continues inherited from Vulgar Latin *exquadrāre, made of ex- and Latin quadrō (“to make square”), which comes from quadrus (“square”).^[3][4][1] The tool has the same origin as French équerre, Occitan escaire, Spanish escuadra and Portuguese esquadro.^[6]

Nocentini separates ⟨squadra¹⟩, the tool for squaring, from ⟨squadra²⟩, an arrangement in a square and so a group of four.^[4] Treccani and Sabatini–Coletti likewise explain the military sense from formations that were originally drawn up in a square.^[7][8] DEI derives the naval sense from ships sailing in formation.^[9] Medieval Latin had ⟨squatra⟩ at Todi in 1289.^[9][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in a poet of the 13th-century Sicilian school, for the drawing tool: Sì terrò per voi le seste e squadre “so I will hold the compasses and squares for you”.^[3][2] Tommaseo and DEI attribute the line to Franco Sacchetti, and GRADIT dates the word to the first half of the 14th century.^[10][9][5]

Semantic evolution

Filarete used the word before 1465 for a group of people doing the same work, and Lorenzo de' Medici for a band of companions.^[3][11] In the military sense it named the smallest unit of the army in Guicciardini (before 1540) and a group of soldiers in Tasso (1581), with the form squatra already at the end of the 15th century.^[3] Galileo uses it for a group of warships in the 17th century.^[9] The sports sense “team” is recorded from 1914, and squadre d'azione were the armed fascist squads of 1921.^[3][12]

Italian squadra and squadrone passed into the other languages of Europe as military words: French escadre, Spanish escuadra and Portuguese esquadra “squadron”, and escadron.^[6][9] English took squadra in 1922 for a fascist squad.^[12]

Timeline

• 13th century – A Sicilian-school poet uses the word for the drawing tool.^[3]
• 1289 – Medieval Latin ⟨squatra⟩ is recorded at Todi.^[9]
• before 1465 – Filarete uses it for a team of workers.^[3]
• late 15th century – Squatra is used for a group of soldiers.^[3]
• before 1540 – Guicciardini uses it for the smallest army unit.^[3]
• 17th century – Galileo uses it for a squadron of ships.^[9]
• 1914 – The sense “sports team” appears in the Resto del Carlino.^[3]
• 1922 – English borrows squadra for a fascist squad.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A set square, a right-angled triangle used in technical drawing.^[5][13][8]
2. A square used by carpenters and builders to mark and check right angles.^[5][14] A squadra, in squadra: at right angles.^[13][14] Fuori squadra: out of true, and figuratively upset or out of sorts.^[5][13][14]
3. (military) A squad, the smallest unit of the army, led by a non-commissioned officer.^[5][8][7]
4. (military) A squadron of warships or military aircraft.^[5][15]
5. A team of people doing the same work: È arrivata una squadra di operai per riparare il tetto.^[5][8][15]
6. (sports) A team: La squadra di casa ha vinto di misura.^[5][8][7]
7. An armed group, especially a paramilitary one.^[5][14] Squadra mobile: the special police unit that investigates crimes.^[5][15][7]

Word family

• squadraccia
• squadrismo
• squadrista
• squadrone
• squadretta

Related words

• quadrare
• quadro
• squadrare
• squadriglia
• squadro
• French escadre

Usage notes

GRADIT lists a separate technical squadra (1960) as a variant of squadro, a technical term of its own.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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, p. 19, 1081
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
8. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e f g Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3607
10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 943
12. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
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 d Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
15. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli