veloce

Forms

veloce m or f by sense (plural veloci, superlative velocissimo)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin vēlōx (“swift, quick”).^[2][3][4][1] The same Latin word gave French véloce and Spanish veloz.^[3] With it came velocità, from Latin vēlōcitās (“speed”).^[2][3]

The origin of the Latin adjective is uncertain.^[5][6] De Vaan suggests that it meant “wind-like”, from a noun *vē-lo- “wind” built on the root Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”) of Latin ventus (“wind”), an old formation since Latin has no verb from that root.^[7][1] An older explanation, which Nocentini and Devoto follow, derives it from a form *weg-slo-, from the root of Latin vegeō (“to be lively”);^[3][8] Devoto compares the adjective ending of Latin ferōx (“fierce”) and Latin atrōx (“dreadful”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is Dante's Commedia (1304–1308), for something that covers a great distance in a short time.^[2][4][9] In the Purgatorio the heavenly boatman, having landed the souls, “sen gì, come venne, veloce” (went away as swiftly as he had come).^[10]

Semantic evolution

Petrarch applies the word to someone who works or acts quickly (1374), and Paolo Segneri to something that soon comes to an end (1673), such as passing time.^[2] Galileo used the derived verb velocitare “to speed up”, and his physics gave velocità its technical sense, the ratio of distance to time (1638).^[2][11]

The 19th century coined velocipede for the early bicycle (1818), a word later displaced by bicicletta;^[2] velocista “sprinter” (1939) competes with English sprinter, and velodromo (1900) came from French vélodrome.^[2] In music veloce marks a passage to be played quickly; as such it entered French (1703), German (1732) and English (19th century).^[9]

Timeline

• 1304–1308 – Dante uses veloce and velocitade.^[2]
• 1341–1342 – Boccaccio uses velocità.^[2]
• 1374 – Petrarch uses veloce for a person who acts quickly.^[2]
• 1638 – Galileo uses velocità for physical speed.^[2]
• 1673 – Paolo Segneri uses veloce for something that soon ends.^[2]
• 1703 – French takes veloce as a musical direction.^[9]
• 1818 – Velocipede appears in Il Conciliatore.^[2]
• 1939 – Velocista “sprinter” is recorded.^[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. fast, quick: able to move or run rapidly: Il ghepardo è un animale molto veloce.^{[4][12][13][6]}
2. Quick at doing something; quick-witted: È veloce nei conti a mente.^[4][12][13]
3. Done or completed in little time: Abbiamo fatto una cena veloce prima del film.^[4][12][13]
4. Passing quickly, soon over: I mesi dell'estate sono stati veloci.^[12][13][6]
5. (sport) Of a track or court, allowing high speeds: una pista molto veloce.^[4][12][14]
6. (music) Indicating a quick passage.^[4][6][14]

Adverb

1. Quickly: Non parlare così veloce, non ti capisco.^[4][12][14]

Word family

• velocità
• velocemente
• velocista
• velocizzare
• velocipede
• velocimetro
• iperveloce
• ultraveloce

Related words

• velodromo
• Latin vēlōx
• French véloce

Usage notes

The closed /e/ and /o/ of veloce are standard, but Wiktionary and Zingarelli also record an open /ɔ/.^[1][6] The adverb veloce is colloquial beside velocemente.^[14][6] Set comparisons include veloce come il vento and veloce come un lampo.^[4][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
6. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 719
11. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 4006
12. ^ 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
13. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana