volto

Forms

volto m (plural volti)^[1]

Etymology

DELI and Nocentini treat it as a learned word, borrowed from Latin vultus (“expression; face”), also spelled voltus.^[2][3][4][1] Meyer-Lübke lists it among the outcomes of the Latin word, beside Old French vout and Old Occitan volt, used especially of images of saints, and Portuguese vulto “figure, aspect”.^[5][1] Tommaseo noted that the closed ⟨o⟩ of the Italian word recalls the Latin one.^[6]

Voltus was the standard Latin spelling until the 1st century AD, before the change of ⟨ol⟩ to ⟨ul⟩ before a consonant.^[1] The word goes back to Proto-Italic *woltus and is probably from Proto-Indo-European *wel-tu- (“gaze, view”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to see”), with the sense passing from “look” to “face”.^[7][1] The root kept the meaning “see” in Welsh gweld and Old Irish fil (“there is”); Gothic 𐍅𐌿𐌻𐌸𐌿𐍃 (wulþus, “glory”) is from the same root.^[7][1] Nocentini compares viso, from Latin vīsus (“sight”), which has the same motivation, and places the word in the family of volō (“to want”), reached through the sense “set one's eyes on”.^[3] DELI mentions the proposal of J. Vendryes (1921) that connects the word with this root “to see”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Dante, 1300–1313, with the literary sense “face”.^[2] Dante also uses it for the gaze: in the Paradiso a light shines sì che vincea 'l mio volto (“so that it overcame my sight”).^[4]

Semantic evolution

In 1348–1353 Boccaccio uses volto figuratively for the outward appearance of something.^[2] Tommaseo distinguished it from faccia, the shape of the face, and, from viso: volto was the face as it reflects the state of body and mind, which is why one says bel volto but not volto grossolano.^[6] The sense “character, true nature”, as in revealing someone's true face, is dated 1813.^[2][4]

The word belongs to a higher register than viso and faccia.^[8][9] Recent phrases include volto nuovo, a newcomer to the stage, film or television,^[8][9] and socialismo dal volto umano (“socialism with a human face”), socialism that respects individual freedom.^[9][4]

Timeline

• 1300–1313 – Dante uses volto for “face”.^[2]
• 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for the outward appearance of a thing.^[2]
• 1813 – The sense “character, essence” is recorded.^[2]
• 1861–1879 – Tommaseo distinguishes volto, viso and faccia.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (formal) face: Aveva il volto rigato di lacrime.^[4][8][9]
2. (figurative) The true character or nature of a person or thing: Con quella lettera ha mostrato il suo vero volto.^[4][8][10]
3. (figurative) Outward appearance, the way something presents itself: i tanti volti della città.^[4][8][11]
4. A person, especially as seen in a crowd or on the screen: In sala non c'era nessun volto noto.^[12][8]
5. (archaic, literary) Gaze, sight.^[8][12][10]

Related words

• viso
• faccia
• Latin vultus

Usage notes

Two other words are spelled volto, both with an open o: the past participle of volgere “turned, facing”, also “aimed at” (una legge volta a ridurre le tasse),^[8][9][1][6] and an obsolete or regional noun volto “vault, arch”, from the same participle, recorded in 1516 and used by Cellini;^[4][13][14] English borrowed the latter as volto before 1700.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b 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. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
7. ^ a b 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 f g h 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 c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
10. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
12. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
14. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it