ragazzo Italian · revision 37520

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|formation=borrowing|attested=1277–1282|origins=ar رَقَّاص}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /raˈɡat.t͡so/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ragazzo''' ''m'' (plural ragazzi, feminine ragazza, diminutive ragazzétto or ragazzìno, (uncommon) ragazzòlo or ragazzuòlo, augmentative ragazzóne, pejorative ragazzàccio, derogatory ragazzùccio (“pitiful boy”))^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include ''ragazo'', ''ragasso'' and ''regàcio''.^(GDLI|15, 312) Rome says ''regazzo'', a Venetian, eastern Lombard and old Piacenza form.^(DEI|3197)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Its origin has been much debated.^(DELI 1999) Most dictionaries follow the explanation proposed independently by Giovan Battista Pellegrini (1960) and Joan Corominas (1962), which Ascanio Persio had already put forward in 1592: it is [[bor|ar|رَقَّاص|tr=raqqāṣ|t=courier, messenger]], a word of Maghrebi Arabic recorded from the 13th century for a letter carrier or a guide of travellers, probably brought in through Sicily.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto 1968) DELI notes that Latin plurals such as ⟨ragaceni⟩ (Cividale, 1408) are the regular Arabic plural of the word, not a diminutive, and GRADIT compares the Medieval Latin form [[m|la-med|ragatius]] of the 13th century.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ Nocentini rejects this: the isolated Old Catalan ⟨arracasses⟩ and Old Venetian ⟨rachasi⟩ “messengers” do not match the Italian word in form or meaning, and the word is native neither to Venice nor to Sicily.^(Nocentini 2010) He revives Brüch's proposal that it is [[gkm|ἐργάτης|tr=ergátis|t=servant; worker]], brought in through the Exarchate of Ravenna and adapted as ⟨*ergatiu⟩: the dialect form ⟨regazzo⟩, with metathesis of the first syllable as in [[rigattiere]], would come first, and ⟨ragazzo⟩ from it by assimilation of the vowels.^(Nocentini 2010) The modern Greek variant spread to the Balkans, giving [[ro|argat|t=farmhand]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ Older proposals derived it from [[grc|ῥάκος|tr=rhákos|t=rag]], through [[la-lat|raga]], a coarse garment worn by servants,^(Körting 1907)^(Wiktionary) and DELI lists others still, from ⟨*radica⟩ “root” to [[la|hērēs|t=heir]].^(DELI 1999) [[oc|regach]] and [[ca|ragatxo]] “page, shepherd's boy” are loans from Italian.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Nocentini dates ''ragazzo'' to 1277–1282 and ''ragazza'' to 1342.^(Nocentini 2010) The early sense is a servant: Dante uses it for a stable boy (''Inferno'' 29, “Non vidi già mai menare stregghia / a ragazzo aspettato dal segnorso”, I never saw a stable boy whose master was waiting ply the curry-comb so fast), and Giordano da Pisa, before 1311, says that lords need ''ragazzi'' at least for the stables.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|15, 312)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 14th century ''ragazzo'' was a servant used for menial work: Boccaccio and Giovanni Villani use it of grooms and camp followers.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Prati 1951|819) The sense “boy, adolescent” is recorded in 1566 in Leonardo Salviati.^(DELI 1999) Muratori explained the shift by comparison with Latin, where ''pueri'' “boys” also meant servants.^(GDLI|15, 312) Later came “son” (1686, Paolo Segneri), “young man” and an immature adult (1872, Tommaseo–Bellini), and “boyfriend” (1895, Arlìa).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Workers and soldiers call each other ''ragazzi'' regardless of age, an affectionate use.^(Prati 1951|819) ''Ragazzi di vita'', the title of Pasolini's novel of 1955, names youths living on the margins, and the ''ragazzi del '99'' were the conscripts born in 1899 sent to the front at eighteen.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) French borrowed ''ragasch'' in 1578, and English ''ragazzo'' (of Italy) is recorded in 1862.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – Medieval Latin ''ragatius''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1277–1282 – Nocentini's date for ''ragazzo''.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses it for a stable boy.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1342 – ''Ragazza'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1408 – The Latin plural ''ragaceni'' at Cividale.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1566 – “Boy, adolescent” in Leonardo Salviati.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1592 – Ascanio Persio proposes the Arabic origin.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1895 – “Boyfriend”, in Arlìa.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|boy]], a male person between childhood or puberty and adulthood: ''un ragazzo di quindici anni''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A young man, ''(familiar, plural)'' the members of a group, team or class, also as a form of address: ''forza, ragazzi!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(familiar)'' A son; in the plural, children of either sex: ''i ragazzi sono in gita''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A [[m|en|boyfriend]]: ''mi ha presentato il suo ragazzo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # An errand boy, a young worker: ''il ragazzo del panettiere''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(sport, plural)'' A youth category.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' A stable boy, a servant.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ragazza]]

+ * [[ragazzino]]

+ * [[ragazzetto]]

+ * [[ragazzone]]

+ * [[ragazzaccio]]

+ * [[ragazzata]]

+ * [[ragazzaglia]]

+ * [[ragazzesco]]

+ * [[ragazzotto]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[garzone]]

+ * [[rigattiere]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Da ragazzo'' means “as a boy, when young”, and a ''gioco da ragazzi'' is child's play, something very easy.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011) The familiar shortened vocative ''ragà'' or ''regà'' is used in central Italy.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}