voce

Forms

voce f (plural voci)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin vōx (“voice”), from the accusative ⟨vōcem⟩.^[2][3][1] The Latin word is panromance: French voix, Occitan votz, Catalan veu, Spanish voz, Portuguese voz, Sardinian boghe and dialectal Romanian boace “lament”.^[3][4] The Tuscan variant boce, found in Bono Giamboni in the 13th century, shows the old wavering in how the Latin /w/ was pronounced and written.^[5][6]

The Latin noun has exact matches in Sanskrit वाच् (vā́c, “voice, speech”) and Ancient Greek ὄψ (óps, “voice”) in Homer, from Proto-Indo-European *wṓkʷs, a root noun of Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- (“to speak”); vocō (“to call”) is a verb formed from it.^[3][1][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Brunetto Latini before 1294, for the sound of a musical instrument; the sense “sound made by the larynx in speaking and singing” is in Dante (1300–1313).^[2][8] Sabatini dates the form boce, in the phrase a bboce “aloud”, to the 9th century.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Dante already used voce for a word or term (before 1321), for a rumour or piece of news (1300–1313) and for the pitch of the voice in music.^[2] The meaning “right to vote” and then “vote” is found from Firenzuola before 1543, which DELI connects with avere voce in capitolo “to have a say”, first the right to vote in a monastic chapter.^[2] Other senses came later: the noise of animals (Pulci, before 1484), a person speaking or a din (Tasso, 1581), an inner call of the conscience (Segneri, 1690), a dictionary headword (Salvini, before 1729), and an item in a list or budget (1905).^[2]

The plural voci came to mean the voices heard by visionaries (1820), and a singer is a voce from 1879.^[2] Italian voce as a musical term was taken into German in 1732, and French voix took the sense “vocal part” from it in 1703.^[8]

Timeline

• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses voce for the sound of an instrument.^[2][9]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses it for the human voice and for a rumour.^[2]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for “word”.^[2]
• Before 1543 – Agnolo Firenzuola uses it for the right to vote.^[2]
• Before 1729 – Anton Maria Salvini uses it for a dictionary entry.^[2]
• 1732 – German Voce is recorded as a musical term.^[8]
• 1905 – the sense “item of a budget” is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. voice, the sound produced by the larynx in speaking or singing: Parlava con una voce bassa e calma.^[9][10][6]
2. The call or noise of an animal; the sound of an instrument or of nature: la voce del vento.^[6][10][1]
3. (figurative) An inner call, a prompting: la voce della coscienza.^[6][2]
4. A person who speaks; a singer: una delle voci più belle della lirica.^[6][2]
5. A rumour, a piece of unconfirmed news: Gira voce che il negozio chiuda.^[9][11][2]
6. A word, a term; a headword or article in a dictionary or encyclopedia.^[9][1][2]
7. An item in a list, account or budget.^[2][12]
8. (music) A vocal or instrumental part.^[2][11]
9. (grammar) A form of a verb: voce passiva.^[2]

Word family

• vocale
• vociare
• vocio
• vociferare
• vociferazione
• vocione
• sottovoce
• vocalizzo
• vocalizzare

Related words

• vocativo
• vocazione
• vociano
• vocabolo
• Latin vōx

Usage notes

Common phrases: a voce “orally, in person”, ad alta voce “aloud”, a bassa voce or sottovoce “quietly”, alzare la voce “to raise one's voice”, passare (la) voce “to spread the word” and avere voce in capitolo “to have a say”.^[9][11][13]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
5. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 4078
6. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
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 Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
9. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
13. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana