Etymologically
Log in

sveglia

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 07:38. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˈzveʎ.ʎa/[1]

Forms

sveglia f (plural sveglie)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from svegliare (“to wake”) with no suffix, a deverbal noun.[2][3][4][5][1] The verb continues Vulgar Latin *exvigilāre, a variant of classical ēvigilō (“to wake up”), from vigilō (“to keep watch”) with ex-;[2][3][1] DELI sets Old French esveillier beside it, and Wiktionary takes the verb probably through Old Occitan esvelhar.[2][3][1] Meyer-Lübke lists the noun under the Latin verb and records it in Old Venetian, Tuscan, Roman, Neapolitan, Calabrian, Sicilian and Corsican.[6]

For the old wind instrument of that name an older explanation, from Pott and Diez, took the name from Gothic 𐍃𐍅𐌹𐌲𐌻𐌾𐌰 (swiglja, “piper”), beside Old High German swegala (“flute”);[7][8] Zaccaria and Körting accepted it.[7][8] Meyer-Lübke judged it unnecessary, and the modern dictionaries derive every sense from the verb.[6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record DELI gives is a 14th-century translation of Seneca, where sveglia is a musical instrument.[2][4] Old texts list it beside the pipe and the trumpet as an instrument played with the breath;[9] Tommaseo says it had long gone out of use.[9] Nocentini and Zingarelli date the noun to the end of the 13th century.[3][10]

Semantic evolution

In Giovanni Villani sveglia is also the player of the instrument, one of the trumpeters and criers of the Commune of Florence.[9] DEI records the word in 1599 as the name of a torture, the wooden horse, and Zingarelli an old phrase stare sulla sveglia “to be in distress”.[11][10]

The modern senses come from waking: the signal by trumpet, bell or drum that wakes a community, especially soldiers, is recorded before 1742 by G. B. Fagiuoli, and the clock with a bell that rings at a set hour from 1873 in Tommaseo–Bellini, after orologio a sveglia.[2][9] Garibaldi and Primo Levi write of the trumpet that sounds the reveille in barracks.[12] As an interjection, sveglia! urges someone to get up, or figuratively to pay attention and get moving.[4][12] Colloquially it has also meant a hard blow or a punch.[4][13] The 20th century added sveglia telefonica, the wake-up call by telephone, and the clock radio, radiosveglia.[12][14]

Timeline

  • Late 13th century – Nocentini's date for sveglia.[3]
  • 14th century – A translation of Seneca names a wind instrument sveglia.[2]
  • 1599 – Sveglia is recorded as a kind of torture.[11]
  • Before 1742 – G. B. Fagiuoli uses it for the signal that wakes a community.[2]
  • 1873 – Tommaseo–Bellini record sveglia for an alarm clock.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Waking up, the time of waking: Domani la sveglia è alle cinque e mezza.[4][15][16][1]
  2. A wake-up signal, especially in the army, the reveille: Il trombettiere suonò la sveglia all'alba.[4][15][10][1]
  3. An alarm clock: Ho dimenticato di puntare la sveglia.[4][15][16][1]
  4. (figurative) A spur to greater effort: dare la sveglia a qualcuno.[4][15][14]
  5. (colloquial) A hard blow, a punch.[4][13]

Interjection

  1. Wake up!, (figurative) come on, pay attention!: Sveglia, il treno parte tra dieci minuti![4][15][10][1]

Word family

  • radiosveglia
  • sveglietta
  • svegliare
  • svegliarsi
  • sveglio
  • risvegliare
  • vegliare
  • veglia

Usage notes

Portare la sveglia al collo is a joking phrase for a naive person.[15][13] The adjective sveglia “awake; quick-witted” is the feminine of sveglio.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ a b Zaccaria, Enrico (1901), L'elemento germanico nella lingua italiana: lessico con appendice e prospetto cronologico, Bologna: Treves
  8. ^ a b Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  9. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3685
  12. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  13. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  14. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  15. ^ 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
  16. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse