usanza

Forms

usanza f (plural usanze)^[1] Old and dialect forms include Old Italian usansa and Old Italian uzansa.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Italian usare + -anza.^[3][4][1][2] Wiktionary compares Piedmontese usansa.^[1]

The verb usare is from Vulgar Latin *usāre, from ūsus (“use; accustomed”), the past participle of ūtor (“to use, practise”); it is French user, Occitan usar, Catalan usar, Spanish usar and Portuguese usar.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word to 1294, and Nocentini to the 13th century.^[3][5] DELI's first record of the sense “custom” is from Dante, before 1321, and notes the sense “frequent company” in Cecco Angiolieri before 1313, with still earlier records in other senses.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The word first meant a way of acting that is usual in a given place, time or setting, and in Old Italian also familiarity, frequent dealings with someone (essere in usanza con qualcuno).^[6][3][4] Boccaccio has it for “a usual thing”: non suole essere usanza (“it is not usual”).^[7][8]

By extension it came to mean fashion or vogue, recorded before 1400 in F. Sacchetti.^[6] In the Catholic Church it also names a ceremonial book and a custom with the force of law in a community.^[3] German borrowed the word as Usanza in 1838.^[9]

Timeline

• 1294 – The word is first recorded.^[3]
• Before 1313 – Cecco Angiolieri uses it for “frequent company”.^[6]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for “custom”.^[6]
• Before 1400 – F. Sacchetti uses it for “fashion”.^[6]
• 1838 – German Usanza is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A custom, tradition: a way of living or behaving typical of a period, place, people or social group: Nel paese c'è ancora l'usanza di accendere falò a gennaio.^{[3][8][4][10]}
2. A personal habit: Ha l'usanza di passeggiare dopo cena.^[3][8][4]
3. Fashion, vogue.^[3][8][10]
4. (archaic) A usual thing; familiarity, frequent dealings with someone.^[3][8][4]
5. (Catholic Church) A ceremonial book; a custom adopted by a community and approved by church authority.^[3]

Related words

• usare
• uso
• costume
• consuetudine

Usage notes

All'usanza di means “in the manner of”.^[3][8][10] The proverb paese che vai, usanza che trovi says that customs differ from place to place.^[8][10][11]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
10. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)