tradizione

Forms

tradizione f (plural tradizioni)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin trāditiō (“handing over; teaching; tradition”), from trādō (“to hand over, deliver; to pass on”).^[2][3][4][1] DELI explains the verb in its basic sense as “to give across”, from dāre and trā-, and Devoto notes that the word kept the idea of a handing over in time.^[2][5] De Vaan lists the verb among the compounds of the same verb “to give”, from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- (“to give”).^[6] The same learned word is French tradition and Spanish tradición.^[3]

In Late Latin the word also meant “betrayal”, at first of the handing over of the sacred books, and this gave the rare sense “treachery”.^[7] The popular outcome of the Latin word is Old Italian tradigione “betrayal”, beside Old French traïson and Spanish traición.^[8][9]

French had the noun and its derivatives well before Italian: from 1291 as the handing over of a thing and since 1488 for the passing on of doctrines and customs, French traditionnel from 1722.^[2][10] The purists therefore opposed tradizionale and its family as French.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word to before 1565, in Benedetto Varchi, and DELI gives Varchi for the sense of a ritual use not recorded in the sacred books.^[4][2] The general sense, the passing on of news, memories and customs from one generation to the next, is recorded by DELI from 1598, in John Florio's dictionary, in the spelling traditione.^[2] Zingarelli dates the word to about 1338, and the GDLI's oldest quotation is from the Old Italian translation of Marsilius of Padua, in the form traddizioni.^[11][12]

Semantic evolution

From the act of handing down, the word came to mean what is handed down: an opinion or custom passed on in this way (1660, Carlo Antonio Manzini).^[2] Tommaseo defines it as the memory of ancient things handed down by the old to the young, as in sapere per tradizione.^[13] In law it is the delivery of a thing to someone who acquires its possession (1802, in a decree); in 1855 the purist Ugolini called this a barbarism best left to police and jailers.^[2]

In philology it names the form in which ancient and medieval texts have come down to us (1932, Enciclopedia italiana), and in Catholic theology the revealed truths handed down by the Church beside Scripture.^[2][14] The derivatives followed in the 19th and 20th centuries: tradizionale (1839–1841), tradizionalismo (1895 in philosophy, from French; 1905 for attachment to the past) and tradizionalista (1887).^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1291 – French tradition is recorded for the handing over of a thing.^[2][10]
• Before 1565 – Benedetto Varchi uses tradizione.^[4][2]
• 1598 – Florio records traditione for the passing on of memories and customs.^[2]
• 1660 – Carlo Antonio Manzini uses it for a custom handed down.^[2]
• 1802 – The legal sense “delivery of a thing” is recorded in a decree.^[2]
• 1839–1841 – Tradizionale is recorded by Molossi.^[2]
• 1932 – The philological sense appears in the Enciclopedia italiana.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The handing down of memories, knowledge and customs from one generation to the next, by speech, writing or example: tradizione orale.^[4][15][7]
2. tradition: a custom, belief or body of usages handed down in this way: le tradizioni popolari.^[4][16][1]
3. (colloquial) A habit, a regular practice: Da noi è tradizione andare al mare a Ferragosto.^[4][15][14]
4. (theology) In Christianity, the revealed truths handed down by the Church alongside Scripture.^[4][15][14]
5. (philology) The transmission of a text from its author to us, and the manuscripts and editions that carry it.^[4][16][14]
6. (law) The delivery of a thing to someone who thereby acquires its possession.^[4][16][1]
7. (archaic, literary) betrayal.^[4][14][1]

Word family

• tradizionale
• tradizionalismo
• tradizionalista
• tradizionalistico
• tradizionalmente

Related words

• tradire
• tradimento
• tradigione
• Latin trāditiō
• French tradition

Usage notes

In law the Latin form traditio is often used in a historical sense.^[7] DEI and the GDLI list an old tradizione “betrayal” as a variant of tradigione.^[10][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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 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. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
10. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3851
11. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 119
13. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ a b c 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