struttura

Forms

struttura f (plural strutture)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin structūra (“building; arrangement”).^[2][3][4][1] The Latin word is formed from struō (“to build”) with the suffix -ūra, on the past participle strūctus.^[5][2][1] French structure is older, recorded in the 14th century for a building and in the 15th for an arrangement.^[6] The same Latin word gave Spanish estructura.^[3]

De Vaan derives the verb from Proto-Indo-European *streu- (“to strew”).^[7] Nocentini gives its first meaning as “to lay one on top of another, in layers”, and relates the root to that of sternō (“to spread out”).^[3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is from L. B. Alberti in 1435–1436, for the parts of a building that make it up and bear its weight.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Trissino and Bandello use the word for the fabric of a bridge or a temple.^[9] DELI quotes an account of its spread: the Sienese scholar Claudio Tolomei used it in grammar in the 16th century, the anatomist Marcello Malpighi took it into anatomy and physiology in the 17th, biology and mathematics followed in the 18th, and economics, sociology and philosophy in the 19th, under the influence of Marx and Spencer.^[2] Galileo used it for the make-up of an organism or a work before 1642.^[2]

In the first decades of the 20th century the word spread through physics, chemistry, mineralogy, geology, anthropology, psychology and linguistics.^[2] The chemical sense, the arrangement of atoms in a molecule, is recorded from 1875.^[2] strutturale appears in 1940, in “la linguistica strutturale di Praga”, and strutturalismo (1950) is English structuralism.^[2] Today struttura is also used for a building or facility equipped for a purpose, such as a hospital or a hotel.^[4][10][1]

Timeline

• 1435–1436 – L. B. Alberti uses struttura for the frame of a building.^[2]
• Before 1642 – Galileo uses it for the make-up of an organism or work.^[2]
• 1875 – The chemical sense, the arrangement of atoms in a molecule, is recorded.^[2]
• 1940 – Strutturale and strutturare are recorded.^[2]
• 1950 – Strutturalismo is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The structure of a whole: its parts considered in their arrangement and relations: la struttura di un tessuto.^[4][11][12]
2. Physical build, corporatura: also struttura mentale: a person's set of ideas and attitudes.^[4]
3. The way the parts of a text, speech or argument are organised: la struttura di un romanzo.^[4][12][10]
4. The organisation of a group or society: struttura sociale, struttura aziendale.^[4][10][13]
5. (architecture, engineering) The load-bearing framework of a building, vehicle or ship: struttura portante.^[4][14][12]
6. A building or facility equipped for an activity: strutture sportive, strutture sanitarie.^[4][10][11]
7. (chemistry, mineralogy) The arrangement of atoms in a molecule or crystal, or of the minerals in a rock.^[14][10]
8. (mathematics) A set together with the operations and relations defined on it.^[10]
9. (linguistics) The system of relations among the elements of a language.^[10][12]

Word family

• strutturale
• strutturare
• strutturalismo
• strutturalista
• strutturazione
• ristrutturare
• ristrutturazione
• infrastruttura
• sovrastruttura
• sottostruttura
• superstruttura
• ultrastruttura
• strutturistica

Related words

• costruzione
• istruire
• Latin structūra
• French structure

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 h i 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. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3662
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 20, 413
10. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
12. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
14. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier