Etymologically
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traduzione

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Pronunciation

  • /tra.du(t)ˈt͡sjo.ne/[1]

Forms

traduzione f (plural traduzioni)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin trāductiō (“transfer”), from trādūcō (“to lead across, to transfer”).[2][3][4][1] The Latin verb is dūcō (“to lead”) with the prefix trāns (“across”).[1][5]

The sense “translation” came with the verb tradurre.[6] According to DELI, its shift from “to carry across” to “to carry from one language into another” is owed to Leonardo Bruni, who misread a passage of Aulus Gellius, “vocabulum graecum vetus traductum in linguam romanam”, where the participle simply means “transferred”.[6] The new verb spread in the 15th century and replaced the older traslatare.[6] The bureaucratic sense “transfer of a prisoner” follows French traduction.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Ottimo commento to Dante, before 1340, and its Old Italian senses are “carrying from one place to another” (also burial and forced migration), a figure of speech that repeats a word, and the translation of a text.[7] DELI dates the act of translating from Claudio Tolomei, before 1557, who wrote of la traduzion di varii libri.[6][8]

Semantic evolution

The concrete sense “a translated text” is recorded from Anton Maria Salvini, before 1729, who wrote of the Septuagint and other traduzioni from Hebrew into Greek.[6][8] The schoolroom sense, a translation exercise, is in the 1922 Zingarelli.[6] The bureaucratic sense, the transfer of a detainee, dates from a treaty with the Republic of San Marino of 1802.[6]

In the 20th century the word gained a sense in biology, the making of a protein from the information in messenger RNA, and fixed phrases such as traduzione simultanea and traduzione automatica.[3][9][10] Zingarelli contrasts it with volgarizzamento, the medieval term for a translation from Latin or Greek into a Romance vernacular.[4]

Timeline

  • Before 1340 – The Ottimo commento uses traduzione.[7]
  • Before 1557 – Claudio Tolomei uses it for the act of translating.[6]
  • Before 1729 – Anton Maria Salvini uses it for a translated text.[6]
  • 1802 – A treaty with San Marino uses it for the transfer of prisoners.[6]
  • 1922 – The Zingarelli dictionary records the sense “school translation exercise”.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Translation, the act of putting a text or speech into another language: la traduzione di un saggio dal tedesco.[3][9][11]
  2. A translated text; also, the way a text has been translated: una traduzione troppo libera.[3][9][4]
  3. A translation done as a school exercise.[3][9][4]
  4. (bureaucratic) The transfer of a prisoner from one place to another.[3][9][10]
  5. (biology) The process by which messenger RNA directs the building of a protein.[3][9][11]
  • tradurre
  • traduttore
  • tradotto
  • Latin trāductiō

Usage notes

Common phrases are traduzione simultanea and consecutiva (by an interpreter during or after a speech), traduzione letterale (word for word), traduzione a fronte (printed opposite the original) and traduzione automatica (by computer).[3][4][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  4. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  8. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli