teatro

Forms

teatro m (plural teatri)^[1] Earlier forms include Old Italian teatre and Old Italian theatro.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin theātrum,^[4][5][6][1] which is from Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron, “place for viewing”), from θεάομαι (theáomai, “to look at, be a spectator”), from θέα (théa, “sight, spectacle”).^[5][4][1] The same word is French théâtre and Spanish teatro, and it spread to the other European languages;^[5][7] Italian passed it on to Turkish tiyatro.^[1]

The Latin word also had a popular development: it survives in the street and place names of Brescia, Padua, Pola and Rome, often where an ancient theatre stood.^[4][8] Padua records ⟨Zairo⟩ in 1077 and ⟨Zadrum⟩ in 1079, and Rome's Piazza dei Satiri goes back to an older ⟨Satri⟩ or ⟨Zatri⟩.^[7][4] Of the derivatives only teatrale continues a Latin word, Latin theātrālis.^[4][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Bono Giamboni's translation of Orosius, before 1292, where it names a public building of ancient Greece and Rome for plays and civic events.^[2] DELI's first date, for a building for opera or plays, is Boccaccio, 1348–1353.^[4][6]

Semantic evolution

Boccaccio compares the slopes of a valley in the Decameron to the steps of a theatre, narrowing towards the bottom, and Petrarch lists the theatre among the buildings a place lacks (Qui non palazzi, non teatro o loggia, “Here no palaces, no theatre or loggia”).^[9]

From the building the word passed to its audience (before 1735, Forteguerri) and to theatre as an activity (before 1704, Menzini). From the same period it was used of a place where memorable events happen, as in teatro della guerra, recorded from the mid-19th century, which Ugolini mocked in 1855 as a theatre with no comedies.^[4][7] In 1879 Tommaseo–Bellini records the performance itself, an author's or a country's body of plays, and a lecture room for experiments; the teatro anatomico, for dissections, dates from the 17th century.^[4][7] Several modern phrases are calques: teatro da camera of a Russian term (1914), teatro di strada of English street theatre, and teatro ottico of French théâtre optique (1888).^[10]

Timeline

• 1077 – Paduan Zairo, a popular outcome of the Latin word, is recorded as a place name.^[7]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses teatro of ancient theatres.^[2]
• 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it in the Decameron.^[4]
• Before 1704 – Menzini uses it for theatrical activity and for a scene of memorable events.^[4]
• Before 1729 – Teatrale is recorded in Anton Maria Salvini.^[4]
• Before 1735 – Forteguerri uses it for the audience.^[4]
• 1879 – Tommaseo–Bellini records the senses “performance” and “body of plays”.^[4]
• 1888 – Teatro ottico translates French théâtre optique.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A theatre, a building for plays, opera and other shows: Il teatro della mia città è stato restaurato.^[6][11][12]
2. A performance or show given there: Stasera andiamo a teatro.^[6][13]
3. Theatre as an art and as a profession, gente di teatro, people who work in it.^[6][12][13]
4. The audience in a theatre: Il teatro intero si alzò ad applaudire.^[6][12][13]
5. The plays of an author, period or country; drama: il teatro di Pirandello.^[6][12][13]
6. (figurative) The scene of an important event: teatro di guerra, the theatre of war.^[6][14][13]
7. A lecture hall built like an amphitheatre: teatro anatomico, for anatomy lessons.^[12][7]
8. (cinema) teatro di posa, a film studio stage.^[13][14]

Word family

• teatrale
• teatralità
• teatrante
• teatrino
• teatrabile
• teatrone

Related words

• anfiteatro
• teoria
• Latin theatrum
• Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron)

Usage notes

Colpo di teatro is a sudden twist, like colpo di scena.^[6][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
4. ^ 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
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 d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3736
8. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 981
9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ 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, 783
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli