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torto

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word torto

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1294 before 1294, Brunetto Latini More words from the 13th century
Inherited from
Latin tortum
Ultimate origin
Latin torqueō

Pronunciation

Forms

torto m (plural torti)[1] As an adjective it inflects torto, torta, torti, torte.[1] Old forms of the noun include Old Italian torte and Old Italian tuorto.[2]

Etymology

The noun is inherited from Late Latin tortum (“something crooked, false or wrong”), the neuter of Latin tortus (“twisted, crooked”) used as a noun, the past participle of torqueō (“to twist”).[3][4][5][2][1] DEI finds the Latin noun in Cassiodorus, in the 6th century.[6] It was used in contrast with Latin dīrēctum (“straight; right”), the source of diritto.[3][7] Cicero already spoke of twisting all law with words, and an edict of Charles the Bald (before 877) uses the noun for an injustice.[3]

The noun is panromance except in Romanian: French tort, Occitan tort, Catalan tort, Spanish tuerto and Portuguese torto.[4][6] As an adjective meaning “twisted”, it is the past participle of torcere.[8][9][1]

De Vaan traces the Latin verb to a causative of Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- (“to twist, turn”), the root of Hittite and Sanskrit verbs for turning.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record of the noun, “what is contrary to right, reason or justice”, is in Brunetto Latini, before 1294.[3][5] Tommaseo quotes his Tesoro: per esaltar giustizia, e mortificare il torto, fossero istabiliti in terra re e signori (“to raise up justice and put down wrong, kings and lords were set on earth”).[11]

Semantic evolution

DEI records a torto “wrongly” in the 13th century, and G. Villani (before 1348) uses torto for “being in the wrong”.[6][3] Today avere torto means “to be wrong” and dare torto “to say someone is wrong”.[5]

Raddrizzare i torti “to right wrongs” might seem a copy of French redresser les torts (1690), but DELI notes that Italian dirizzatore dei torti is already in P. Ricordati (1575), and the Morgante has dirizzate a ragione ogni torto.[3] The adjective keeps the physical sense, as in Dante's un'ampia fossa in arco torta, and once had the figurative “unjust”.[5][6]

Timeline

  • Before 877 – An edict of Charles the Bald uses Latin tortum for an injustice.[3]
  • 13th century – A torto “wrongly” is recorded.[6]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses the noun torto.[3]
  • Before 1348 – G. Villani uses it for “being in the wrong”.[3]
  • 1575 – P. Ricordati has dirizzatore dei torti.[3]
  • 1690 – French redresser les torts is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A wrong, an injustice done to someone: ha subito un grave torto.[5][9][1]
  2. The state of being in the wrong: essere dalla parte del torto, avere torto.[5][7]
  3. An unjust claim.[5]

Adjective

  1. twisted, having undergone twisting: filo torto.[5][9][1]
  2. (literary) Bent, curved.[5][9]
  3. Winding, or (colloquial) crooked: gambe torte.[5][1]
  4. (textiles) Of yarn, twisted in spinning; as a noun, such yarn.[5][12]

Adverb

  1. Askance, with suspicion or menace: guardare torto.[5][7]

Word family

  • tortoso
  • tortezza

Usage notes

Common phrases: a torto “wrongly”, avere torto “to be wrong”, dare torto “to disagree with someone”, non avere tutti i torti “to have a point”.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3837
  7. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  8. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
  9. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  11. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  12. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Torto.” Etymologically, 10 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/torto. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

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