stazza

Forms

stazza f (plural stazze)^[1] Older forms are stanza and staza.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin stadia, the neuter plural of stadium (“stadium; a measure of length”), taken as a feminine singular.^[2][5][6][3] Nocentini and Sabatini–Coletti call it the popular outcome, beside the learned stadio.^[5][7] Devoto notes that the ⟨dj⟩ of the Vulgar Latin form *stadja developed as in mezzo and not as in staggio, which comes from the same Latin word.^[8][9]

Treccani relates the word to that one in its sense “measuring rod”.^[10] Guglielmotti already derived it from that word, a surveying pole since the 14th century.^[11] For the origin of the Latin word, see the entry for the learned doublet.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the form stanza in 15th-century portolans, sailing guides, for the capacity of a ship.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Treccani explains the sense “capacity” through the graduated rod that was put into a ship's hold to measure it; the name of the rod passed to the measurement.^[10] Guglielmotti's naval dictionary of 1889 still gives both senses, the measure of the ship and the measuring rod, and also a flagstaff, so called from its likeness to that rod.^[11] Stratico had recorded staza and the verb stazare in 1813, and the modern form stazza appears in Guglielmotti.^[2]

The measure is now expressed in tonnes of capacity (tonnellate di stazza), each of about 2.83 cubic metres, with stazza lorda and stazza netta for gross and net tonnage.^[4][10] From a ship's size the word passed jokingly to a person's or animal's bulk.^[6][7][12]

Timeline

• 15th century – stanza “capacity of a ship” in the portolans.^[2][6]
• 1813 – Stratico records staza and the verb stazare.^[2]
• 1889 – Guglielmotti records the form stazza.^[2]
• 1916 – stazzare “to have a given tonnage” is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (nautical) The internal volume of a ship, which measures its carrying capacity; tonnage: un mercantile di diecimila tonnellate di stazza.^[6][3][4][1]
2. (nautical, historical) A graduated rod used to measure the capacity of a ship's hold.^[6][3][10]
3. A graduated dipstick for measuring the level of a liquid in a container.^[6][3][12]
4. (fishing) A pole fixed at the end of each wing of a trawl net.^[6][3][10]
5. (jocular) A person's build, especially a heavy one: due lottatori della stessa stazza.^{[6][7][4][12]}

Word family

• stazzare
• stazzatura

Related words

• stadio
• staggio
• Latin stadium

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 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
4. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 20, 113
12. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana