Etymologically
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sveglio

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈzveʎ.ʎo/[1]

Forms

sveglio (feminine sveglia, masculine plural svegli, feminine plural sveglie)[1]

Etymology

It is the short past participle of svegliare (“to wake”), formed without the participle ending, beside the regular participle svegliato.[2][3][4][5][1] Devoto described it as extracted from the full participle.[6] The verb continues Vulgar Latin *exvigilāre, a variant of classical ēvigilō (“to wake up”), formed with ex- on vigilō (“to keep watch”).[2][3][7] DELI and GRADIT set Old French esveillier beside it, and Wiktionary takes the verb probably through Old Occitan esvelhar.[2][7][1]

Wiktionary describes it as a Tuscan short participle.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is from 1836, in Raffaello Lambruschini, with the figurative sense “alert, quick, shrewd”.[2][3] Manzoni used it in the final edition of I promessi sposi (1840–1842), where the earlier edition had svegliato: Quel ragazzotto che, a dire il vero, mostrava d'esser molto sveglio, mostrava però d'essere anche più malizioso (“That lad, who to tell the truth seemed very sharp, seemed even more mischievous”).[2][8] The literal sense “awake, not asleep” is recorded later, in Manuzzi's dictionary of 1865.[2]

Semantic evolution

Tommaseo treated sveglio as a shortened svegliato and recorded both the literal sense, as in a question asking whether someone is awake, and the figurative one, used of a person or a mind.[9] In the 20th century Carducci, Saba, Moravia and Bassani all use it for “awake”.[8]

The figurative sense moved from quick understanding towards cunning: modern dictionaries give, besides “awake” and “quick-witted”, a colloquial sense “shrewd, wily, too clever”.[7][4][10][11] GRADIT marks the use as a plain participle of svegliare obsolete, while the adjective is in common use.[7]

Timeline

  • 1836 – Raffaello Lambruschini uses sveglio for “alert, quick-witted”.[2][3]
  • 1840–1842 – Manzoni puts sveglio in place of svegliato in the final edition of I promessi sposi.[2]
  • 1865 – Manuzzi's dictionary records the sense “awake”.[2]
  • 1873 – The noun sveglia “alarm clock”, from the same verb, is recorded by Tommaseo–Bellini.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. awake, not asleep: Il bambino è rimasto sveglio tutta la notte per il temporale.[7][4][10][1]
  2. (figurative) quick-witted, alert, quick to learn and act: Quella bambina è molto sveglia per la sua età.[7][4][10][1]
  3. (figurative, colloquial) Shrewd, cunning, worldly-wise: Con quel venditore bisogna stare attenti, è parecchio sveglio.[7][4][11][1]
  • svegliare
  • svegliato
  • sveglia
  • risvegliare
  • vegliare

Usage notes

The feminine sveglia has the same form as the noun sveglia “wake-up call; alarm clock”, formed from svegliare without a suffix.[2] GDLI also records an old noun sveglio “awakening; wake-up signal”, and in the courtly love poetry of the 13th century a song sung at dawn in front of the beloved's house.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  5. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 20, 601