Etymologically
Log in

verso

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 19:29. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

verso1 line of verse; sound; direction

Pronunciation

Forms

verso m (plural versi)[1]

Etymology

The noun is a learned word, borrowed from Latin versus (“a turning; furrow; line; verse”), an action noun from vertō (“to turn”).[2][3][4][5] In the language of the countryside the Latin word meant the turn of the plough at the end of a furrow, then the furrow itself, then a line of writing and especially a line of poetry.[2][3] Nocentini compares the ploughman's path with early boustrophedon writing, which ran alternately left to right and right to left.[3] The same Latin word is French vers and Spanish verso.[3][6]

Latin vertō goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Dante's Commedia (1300–1313), for a line of poetry: “mirate la dottrina che s'asconde / sotto 'l velame de li versi strani” (look at the teaching hidden under the veil of the strange verses).[2][7]

Semantic evolution

In the plural versi meant a poem or poetry in a 14th-century translation of Boethius, and Boccaccio already used the word for the song of birds (1348–1353).[2] The sense extended to the cry of other animals (Lorenzo Magalotti, before 1712) and of street vendors (1922), and to a person's characteristic way of speaking or moving.[2] Francesco Berni uses it for “way, manner” before 1535, as in today's non c'è verso di… “there is no way to…”.[2][5] Per un verso “on one side” is in Vettori in the 16th century, and the sense “direction” is recorded in 1875; in mathematics a verso is the sense of a vector or of travel along a curve.[8][2][5][9]

Derivatives include versetto (13th century), the verse of a chapter of the Bible from Domenico Cavalca, and verseggiare (16th century); versiliberista (1918) translates French vers-libriste.[2][3]

Timeline

  • 1300–1313 – Dante uses verso for a line of poetry.[2]
  • 14th century – A translation of Boethius uses versi for poetry.[2]
  • 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for the song of birds.[2]
  • Before 1535 – Francesco Berni uses it for “way, manner”.[2]
  • Before 1712 – Lorenzo Magalotti uses it for the cry of animals.[2]
  • 1918 – Versiliberista is first recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A line of verse: un sonetto di quattordici versi.[4][5][10]
  2. (plural) Poetry, a poem: scrivere versi.[4][10]
  3. The characteristic cry or call of an animal: il verso della civetta.[4][10]
  4. An inarticulate noise or grimace: Smettila di fare versi![4]
  5. direction, the way in which something moves or lies: Hai messo il tappeto nel verso sbagliato..[5][2]
  6. Way, manner: Non c'è stato verso di farlo partire in orario.[5][2]
  7. (mathematics) The sense of a vector or of travel along a curve.[5][9]

Word family

  • versetto
  • versaccio
  • verseggiare
  • verseggiatore
  • verseggiatura
  • versificare
  • versificatore
  • versificazione
  • versiliberista

verso2 towards

Pronunciation

Forms

verso (invariable; poetic shortened form ver or ver’)[11][12]

Etymology

The preposition is inherited from Latin versum (“towards”), the past participle of vertō (“to turn”) used as an invariable particle, “turned in the direction of”.[2][3][4][11] The same word is French vers, Occitan ves and Catalan vers.[3][6][13]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the shortened form vêr in Brunetto Latini, before 1294, and Dante uses both vêr and verso before 1321, in the sense “towards, in the direction of”.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Dante also uses the preposition for “against” (1313–1319) and for comparison, “compared with”, now literary.[2][11] Giovanni Villani has it for an approximate time, before 1348, and Boccaccio for an attitude towards someone (1348–1353).[2] The sense “near, in the area of” a place is recorded in 1800.[2] Before a personal pronoun the preposition takes di: verso di me.[11][12]

Timeline

  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses vêr.[2]
  • Before 1321 – Dante uses verso.[2]
  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it for an approximate time.[2]
  • 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for an attitude towards someone.[2]
  • 1800 – The sense “near, in the area of” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. towards, in the direction of: Il treno viaggia verso Napoli.[4][11][14]
  2. Near, in the area of: Abitano verso il centro.[11][12]
  3. around, about, of time or age: Ci vediamo verso le otto.[11][12][1]
  4. Towards, in relation to: Era molto gentile verso tutti.[11][12]
  5. (literary) Compared with.[11][12]
  • versicolo
  • versare
  • vertere
  • inverso
  • Latin versus
  • French vers

Usage notes

Verso “verso, back of a leaf” (1905), the even page of a book or the reverse of a coin, comes from the Latin phrase folio verso “on the turned leaf” and is used as the opposite of recto.[2][4][3] The rare literary adjective verso “turned”, from Latin versus, survives in pollice verso, “with the thumb turned down” as a sign of condemnation, after Juvenal.[2][3][11]

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 o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 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 f g h i Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 4032
  9. ^ a b Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
  10. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  12. ^ a b c d e f Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  13. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli