volta Italian · revision 37541

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=1219|origins=la volvō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈvɔl.ta/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''volta''' ''f'' (plural volte)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*volta]], a shortened form of [[m|la-vul|*volvita]], from [[m|la-vul|*volvitus]], a popular past participle of [[la|volvō|t=to roll, turn]] in place of classical [[m|la|volūtus]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)^(REW 1935) DELI accepts that it may be a deverbal noun of [[voltare]], but finds a Vulgar Latin noun the easier explanation, quoting Migliorini's view that the abstract sense comes from the oxen turning at the end of the furrow.^(DELI 1999) GDLI and DEI derive the sense “turn” from the verb.^(GDLI)^(DEI|4086) The same Latin form is [[fr|voûte|t=vault]], [[oc|volta]], [[ca|volta]], [[es|vuelta|t=turn]] and [[pt|volta]];^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) the full form without syncope gave [[es|bóveda|t=vault]].^(DEI|4086)^(REW 1935)

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+ Nocentini notes that Italian developed the widest range of metaphorical senses: French stops at the concrete “vault”, and Spanish has “turn, curve, return” but not “time, occasion”.^(Nocentini 2010)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ GRADIT dates the word to 1219 in the sense “a turn, the moment when it falls to someone to act”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DIFIT) Nocentini dates the sense “direction towards a goal” to the 13th century and the turning movement and the arched structure to the 14th.^(Nocentini 2010) DELI's first record is in Dante's ''Commedia'', 1300–1313, in the sense “a turning, turning round”, as in “ma con dar volta suo dolore scherma” (but by turning over she fends off her pain, ''Purgatorio'' 6).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “occasion, time when something happens” is in Dante's ''Convivio'' (1304–1308), and with a numeral (''tre volte'', three times) the word counted repetitions before 1321.^(DELI 1999) ''Per volta'' with a distributive meaning is in Giordano da Pisa before 1311, and ''alla volta di'' “in the direction of” in a Pisan merchant's letter of 1458.^(DELI 1999) The architectural sense “vault” is in Giovanni Villani before 1348;^(DELI 1999)^(REW 1935) Old Genoese and Venetian ''volta'' meant a vaulted storeroom or shop, and Patecchio already uses it for a cellar.^(DELI 1999)^(REW 1935) Many fixed phrases followed: ''c'era una volta'' (once upon a time), ''una volta per tutte'' and ''dare di volta il cervello'' (to go mad).^(DELI 1999)

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+ In horsemanship ''volta'' was a circling movement (Grisone, 1590), and it was also the name of a lively dance.^(DEI|4086)^(DIFIT) Both passed to French as ''volte'' and on to German ''Volte'', and English took the dance as ''lavolta'' about 1590.^(DIFIT) Greek [[m|el|βόλτα|tr=vólta|t=a stroll]] and Turkish ''olta'' are among the word's other borrowings.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1219 – ''Volta'' “turn” is first recorded.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DIFIT)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses ''volta'' for a turning round.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – ''Volta'' “occasion” in Dante's ''Convivio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses ''volta'' “vault”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1458 – ''Alla volta di'' “towards” in a Pisan letter.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1590 – ''Volta'' as a movement in horsemanship, in Grisone.^(DEI|4086)

+ * c. 1590 – English ''lavolta'' “the volta dance” is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|time]], occasion, an instance of something happening: ''l'ultima volta che l'ho visto''; with numbers: ''due volte al giorno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # [[m|en|turn]], the moment when it falls to someone to act: ''adesso tocca a te, è la tua volta''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''alla volta di'': in the direction of, bound for: ''la nave salpò alla volta di Genova''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(literary)'' The act of turning, a turn or bend.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(architecture)'' A [[m|en|vault]], a curved masonry roof; also any surface shaped like one: ''la volta della grotta'', ''la volta celeste''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' An arched structure: ''volta cranica'', ''volta del palato''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(metrics)'' One of the parts of the stanza of a ''canzone'' or a ''ballata'', ''(printing)'' the side of the sheet printed second.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(sport)'' A figure in figure skating; a dance of the 16th and 17th centuries.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[giravolta]]

+ * [[talvolta]]

+ * [[stavolta]]

+ * [[volteggiare]]

+ * [[univoltino]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[voltare]]

+ * [[volgere]]

+ * [[volto]]

+ * [[la|volvō]]

+ * [[es|vuelta]]

+ * [[fr|voûte]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''una volta'' (once; formerly), ''a volte'' and ''alle volte'' (sometimes), ''qualche volta'', ''di volta in volta'' (case by case), ''una buona volta'' (once and for all) and ''chiave di volta'' (keystone), a calque of French ''clef de voûte''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(DEI|4086)

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+ A separate ''volta'' is an old name of the volt, the unit of electromotive force, named after Alessandro Volta (1745–1827) and recorded by Panzini in 1905.^(DEI|4086)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}