Italian words from Latin
1281 Italian words with Latin in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 17).
respirare
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin respīrō (“to blow back; to breathe, recover one's breath”). The Latin verb is a compound of the prefix re- (“again”), with iterative or durative value, and…
restare
It is borrowed from Latin restāre (“to stay behind, remain”), a learned word, formed from Latin re- (“back, again”) + stō (“to stand”). Nocentini lists French rester and Spanish restar beside it…
restituire
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin restituere (“to set up again, restore; give back”), moved from the Latin third conjugation in ⟨-ere⟩ to the Italian verbs in ⟨-ire⟩. The Latin verb is a…
resto
It is formed from Italian restare (“to remain”) + -o, a deverbal noun. The verb is a learned word, borrowed from Latin restō (“to stay behind; to be left over”), formed with re- (“back; again”) and…
rete
It is inherited from Latin rēte (“net”), neuter, and the feminine and masculine rētem that Latin also used. The word is pan-Romance except in Romanian: Old French roit, French rets (now disused)…
retro
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin retrō (“backwards, behind”). Wiktionary treats it as inherited instead. The Latin adverb is formed from the prefix re- (“back”) and the adverbial suffix…
revisione
It is a learned word, borrowed from Late Latin revīsiō (“a seeing again”), first recorded in the 5th century in Claudianus Mamertus. The Latin noun is formed on the past participle of Latin revideō…
ricevere
It is inherited from Latin recipiō (“to take back; receive, admit”), formed from capiō (“to take”) with the prefix re- (“back”). DELI calls the Italian forms partly learned and partly popular, and…
richiedere
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *requaerere (“to seek again; to ask for”), the popular form of classical Latin requīrō (“to seek; to ask; to require”). The Vulgar Latin verb remade the compound on…
riconoscere
It is inherited from Latin recognōscō (“to recognize; to review”), formed with the intensive prefix re- from cognōscō (“to get to know”), the source of conoscere. Devoto notes that the verb was…
ricordare
It is borrowed from Latin recordor (“to call to mind”), a learned word in DELI's view. The Latin verb is derived from cor (“heart”) with the prefix re- “back”: the heart was thought to be the seat…
ridere
It is inherited from Late Latin rīdere (“to laugh”), the form used by Christian writers from the 4th century in place of classical ⟨rīdēre⟩, moved to the third conjugation after the perfect ⟨rīsī⟩…
ridicolo
It is borrowed from Latin rīdiculus (“laughable, funny”), a learned word. The Latin adjective is formed from rīdeō (“to laugh; to mock”), the source of the inherited ridere, with the suffix -culus…
riferire
It is a learned adaptation, borrowed from Latin referre (“to bring back; to report”), a compound of re- (“back, again”) and ferō (“to carry”). The Latin verb was moved to the Italian “-ire”…
rifiutare
It is the popular outcome, inherited from Latin refūtō (“to check, repel; to refute”), whose ⟨i⟩ is usually put down to the influence of fiutare (“to sniff”). DELI calls that influence hard to…
rilasciare
It is inherited from Latin relaxō (“to loosen, release; to relieve”), reshaped after lasciare (“to leave, let go”). The Latin verb is formed from laxō (“to loosen, slacken”) with the prefix re-…
rimanere
It is inherited from Latin remaneō (“to stay behind, remain”), from re- (“back”) and maneō (“to stay”). DELI calls it a learned word, but the verb continues in most Romance languages: Old French…
rimettere
1. The verb “to forgive” is a learned word, borrowed from Latin remittō (“to send back; to slacken; to forgive”), with the past participle remissus, from mittō (“to let go, to send”) with the prefix…
rinunciare
It is a learned borrowing, borrowed from Latin renūntiō (“to report back; to renounce”). The Latin verb is nūntiō (“to announce”) with the prefix re- and first meant “to announce in reply”; only…
ripetere
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin repetere (“to seek again; to claim back; to repeat”), from petō (“to make for; to ask”) with the prefix re- (“again”). DELI notes that the Latin verb had…
riportare
It is borrowed from Latin reportō (“to carry back”), from portō (“to carry”) with the prefix re- (“back”). DELI and the GDLI call it a learned word. In some senses it is a formation from Italian ri-…
riposare
1. The verb meaning “to put down again” is from Italian ri- + posare, with the prefix of repetition. 2. The verb meaning “to rest” is inherited from Late Latin repausāre, recorded from the 5th…
riprendere
It is inherited from Latin reprehendō (“to hold back; to blame”), in its shortened form reprendō, from prehendō (“to seize”) with the prefix re- (“again, back”). DELI and the GDLI call it a learned…
risolvere
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin resolvere (“to loosen, dissolve; to unravel, explain”), made of re- and solvō (“to loosen, release”). Wiktionary allows that it may be a semi-learned…
rispettare
It is borrowed from Latin respectō (“to look back; to have regard for”), a learned word. The Latin verb is the intensive of respiciō (“to look back”), from re- (“back”) and speciō (“to look”), or is…
rispetto
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin respectus (“a looking back; regard, consideration”), the action noun of respiciō (“to look back, have regard for”), from re- (“back”) and speciō (“to…
rispondere
It is inherited from Late Latin respŏndere (“to answer”), the Late Latin form of the classical verb, which had a long /ē/ in the infinitive and moved to the third conjugation; DELI dates the new…
risultato
It is the past participle of risultare (“to result”) used as a noun: from Italian risultare + -ato. The verb is a learned word, borrowed from Latin resultō (“to rebound; to resound”), from re-…
ritardo
It is a noun formed from the verb ritardare “to delay”. The verb, recorded from 1282, is a learned word, borrowed from Latin retardō (“to delay, hold back”), from tardō (“to delay”) with the prefix…
ritenere
It is inherited from Latin retineō (“to hold back; to keep”), a compound of re- (“back”) and teneō (“to hold”). In Latin the verb already meant both “to keep together, contain” and “to keep in…
rivedere
DELI, GRADIT, Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti take it as borrowed from Latin revideō (“to see again; to revisit”), formed from re- (“again”) and videō (“to see”); DELI and the GDLI call it a learned…
rivelare
It is borrowed from Latin revēlāre (“to unveil, to reveal”), a learned word. The Latin verb is formed from vēlō (“to cover, veil”), from vēlum (“veil, curtain”), with the prefix re- of reversed…
rompere
It is inherited from Latin rumpō (“to break, burst”). The verb survives in nearly the whole Romance area: French rompre, Occitan rompre, Catalan rompre, Spanish romper, Portuguese romper, Sardinian…
rosa
It is inherited from Latin rosa, which meant both the flower and the rosebush. The same word is French rose, Occitan rosa, Catalan rosa, Spanish rosa and Portuguese rosa. Meyer-Lübke and Körting…
rosso
It is inherited from Latin russus (“red, red-haired”). In Italy this word won out over classical rubeus, from the same root, as the ordinary name of the colour, while its derivative russeus, already…
rotto
It is inherited from Latin ruptus (“broken, burst”), the past participle of rumpō (“to break, to burst”), and it serves as the past participle of rompere. The same participle gave the noun rotta…
rumore
It is inherited from Latin rūmor (“noise, murmur; talk, rumour”). The early form Old Italian romore is explained by DELI and GDLI from a spoken variant Vulgar Latin *romor, though DELI adds that an…
ruota
It is inherited from Latin rota (“wheel”). The stressed short /ɔ/ in an open syllable became /wɔ/, written ⟨uo⟩, as is normal in Tuscan. DEI notes that the unstressed forms of the family kept the…
sabato
It is inherited from Latin sabbatum, from Ancient Greek σάββατον (sábbaton), from Biblical Hebrew שַׁבָּת (šabbāṯ, “cessation (from work), rest”). Nocentini and GRADIT add that the Greek singular…
sacco
It is inherited from Latin saccus (“sack, bag”), borrowed from Ancient Greek σάκκος (sákkos, “coarse cloth of hair; sack”), from a Semitic word: Phoenician *šaqq (“coarse cloth, sack”). Nocentini…
sala
1. The hall is a Germanic word, but its route into Italian is debated. DELI, following Francesco Sabatini, and Sabatini–Coletti trace the sense “large room” to the Franks and later French influence…
sale
It is inherited from Latin sāl (“salt”) through its accusative, a Latin word of Indo-European origin. The same word is French sel, Occitan sal, Catalan sal, Spanish sal, Portuguese sal, Sardinian…
salire
It is inherited from Latin saliō (“to jump, leap”). In Italian the sense moved from leaping to climbing; elsewhere the verb kept “to jump” (Romanian sări) or took other senses: French saillir “to…
saltare
It is inherited from Latin saltō (“to dance; to leap”), the intensive or frequentative of saliō (“to jump”). In Italian “saltare” took over the meaning of “saliō”, while salire came to mean “to go…
salto
It is inherited from Latin saltus (“a jump, leap”), through its accusative. The Latin noun was formed from saliō (“to jump”) with the suffix of action nouns -tus. DELI treats it together with the…
salutare
1. The adjective is borrowed from Latin salūtāris (“healthful; saving”), a learned word, from salūs (“health; safety”), the source of salute. The Latin noun is related to salvus (“safe, sound”). In…
salute
It is inherited from Latin salūs (“health; safety, deliverance”), from the accusative salūtem. The Latin noun was used as a wish and a greeting, and was formed beside salvus (“safe, unharmed…
salvare
It is inherited from Late Latin salvō (“to heal; to keep safe; to redeem”), a verb made in Late Latin from the adjective Latin salvus (“whole, unharmed, safe”) (see salvo), which took the place of…
salve
It is borrowed from Latin salvē (“be well!, hail!”), the imperative singular of salveō (“to be well, be in good health”), used in Latin as a greeting. The verb is formed on salvus (“safe, sound”)…
salvo
It is inherited from Latin salvus (“whole, unharmed, safe”). The same word is French sauf, Occitan salf, Catalan salf, Spanish salvo, Portuguese salvo, Logudorese salvu and Friulian salf; it is…
sangue
It is inherited from Latin sanguis (“blood”), through the accusative ⟨sanguem⟩, which replaced classical ⟨sanguinem⟩ (Wiktionary calls it Late Latin), or through the old neuter sanguen. The word is…
sano
It is inherited from Latin sānus (“healthy, sound”). The word is pan-Romance: French sain, Occitan sa, Catalan sa, Spanish sano, Portuguese são, Sardinian sanu, Friulian san and Romansh saun…
santo
It is inherited from Latin sānctus (“sacred, inviolable”), properly the past participle of sanciō (“to make sacred and inviolable, ratify”). The word is found throughout Romance: French saint…
sapere
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, the spoken Latin form, with a second-conjugation infinitive, of classical Latin sapere (“to taste, have a flavour; to be wise”). In Late and spoken Latin…
scala
It is inherited from Latin scālae (“ladder; stairs”), a plural that classical Latin used with either singular or plural force and that passed to the singular in Late Latin. Quintilian condemned the…
scappare
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *excappāre, a verb formed on Late Latin cappa (“hood; cloak”) with ex- (“out of”). DELI and most dictionaries take it to have meant “to slip off one's cloak” in…
scatola
It is probably from Medieval Latin castula (“chest, basket”) with its first consonants reversed (metathesis of ⟨cast-⟩ into ⟨scat-⟩). DELI gives this explanation with a “perhaps”, and Treccani calls…
scattare
Most dictionaries derive it from an unrecorded inherited from Vulgar Latin *excaptāre (“to try to seize”), formed from ex- and Latin captō (“to try to catch”), itself a derivative of capiō (“to…
scena
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin scaena (“stage, scene”) (also scēna), from Ancient Greek σκηνή (skēnḗ, “tent; stage”). The origin of the Greek word is uncertain; Nocentini thinks it…
schiavo
It is borrowed from Medieval Latin sclavus (“Slav; slave”). Nocentini takes the Latin word from Byzantine Greek σκλάβος (sklábos, “slave”), drawn from Σκλαβηνός (Sklabēnós, “Slav”), an adaptation of…