vivace

Forms

vivace m or f by sense (plural vivaci, superlative vivacissimo)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin vīvāx (“full of life; long-lived”), a learned word.^[2][3][4][1] The Latin adjective is formed on vīvō (“to live”) with the suffix -āx, like audāx from audeō and edāx from edō.^[5][1][6] De Vaan traces the verb and vīvus (“alive”) to Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃-u̯e/o- (“to live”).^[7] The same Latin word gave French vivace (14th century) and Spanish vivaz.^[2][8] DEI compares avaccio.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Dante's Convivio (1304–1307), and Dante uses the word again in 1313–1319 of trees “heavy with fruit and full of life” and of a bright light.^[9][10][11] The first sense was “full of life, vigorous”, of people, plants, light and fire.^[9][10]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian vivace also meant “life-giving”, of fertile soil, and “long-lived”, the sense of Sannazaro's vivace cervo.^[9][11][12] The sense “lively and always on the move”, of a person, is recorded before 1530 in Sannazaro, and “quick-witted” before 1616 in Scamozzi.^[10] “Spirited, brilliant”, of conversation or style, follows in 1839, and “heated”, of a discussion, in 1961.^[10]

As a musical marking, between allegro and presto, the word is recorded in Italian in 1879.^[10][8] It had already gone abroad: English used it in 1683, German in 1728 and French in 1705.^[13] In botany a pianta vivace is a perennial, recorded in 1839.^[8][14] Wine makers call a young, fresh, slightly sharp wine vivace.^[3][15]

Timeline

• 1304–1307 – Dante uses vivace in the Convivio.^[9]
• 1313–1319 – Dante uses it of bright light and fruitful trees.^[10][3]
• Before 1530 – Sannazaro uses it of a lively person.^[10]
• Before 1616 – Scamozzi uses it for “quick-witted”.^[10]
• 1683 – English vivace is recorded as a musical term.^[13]
• 1705 – French vivace is recorded as a musical term.^[13]
• 1728 – German vivace is recorded.^[13]
• 1839 – The botanical sense “perennial” is recorded.^[8]
• 1879 – The musical marking is recorded in Italian.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. lively, full of energy and high spirits: una bambina vivace e curiosa.^{[3][16][14][1]}
2. Restless, unruly, of children: una scolaresca piuttosto vivace.^[3][16]
3. Quick-witted, sharp: un'intelligenza vivace.^{[3][16][14][1]}
4. Animated, spirited, expressive, of talk or style: un racconto vivace.^[3][16][14]
5. Heated, sharp, of a discussion or reply: un vivace botta e risposta.^[3][16][15]
6. vivid, bright, of colour, light or flame: un azzurro vivace.^{[3][16][14][1]}
7. (oenology) Of wine: young, fresh and slightly sharp, or lightly sparkling.^[3][14][15]
8. (chemistry) Of a reaction: strongly effervescent and giving off heat.^[3][11]
9. (botany) Perennial.^[14][15][11]
10. (literary) Full of life, flourishing, or long-lived.^[16][15][11]

Adverb

1. (music) vivace: at a quick pace, between allegro and presto.^[3][15][17]

Word family

• vivacità
• vivacemente
• vivacizzare
• vivacezza

Related words

• vivere
• vivo
• avaccio
• Latin vivax
• French vivace

Usage notes

The superlative is vivacissimo.^[1] An older form was vivaze.^[18] As a tempo marking vivace often qualifies another, as in allegro vivace.^[15][11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
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 c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 4075
9. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c d e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
14. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
16. ^ 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
17. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
18. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 944