casa Italian · revision 37542

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1178–1182, Savona document|origins=la casa}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈka.sa/, /ˈka.za/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''casa''' ''f'' (plural case, diminutive casìna or casétta or casettìna, augmentative casóna or casóne m, pejorative casàccia, endearing-derogatory casùccia)^(Wiktionary)

+ The shortened form ''ca’'' or ''ca'', found in Dante and in rural Tuscany, is usual in the north and around Lucca before a name, as in [[vec|ca]].^(Prati 1951|248)^(REW 1935)

+ Old northern forms include [[roa-oit|caxa]] and [[roa-oit|chaxa]].^(LEI|12, 923)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|casa|t=hut, cottage]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) In classical Latin the word for a house was [[m|la|domus]], which survives in Italian [[duomo]]; the Latin word named the countryman's hut, opposed to the [[m|la|villa]] and to the town house.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)^(LEI|12, 923) It replaced the older word in almost all the Romance languages; that word survives only in Sardinia.^(LEI|12, 923)^(DEI|788) The word is panromance: [[ro|casă]], [[dlm|kuosa]], [[fur|ciase]], [[oc|casa]], [[ca|casa]], [[es|casa]] and [[pt|casa]];^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) [[fro|chiese]] survives in the preposition [[fr|chez|t=at the house of]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(LEI|12, 923)

+

+ The origin of the Latin word is uncertain.^(DELI 1999)^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) Its single /s/ between vowels points to a word from outside Rome: Nocentini derives it from an Oscan form of [[itc-pro|*katja]] and compares [[ae|kata-|t=chamber]] and [[cu|котьць|tr=kotĭcĭ|t=cell, nest]],^(Nocentini 2010) while de Vaan, who cites the same forms beside a possible root [[ine-pro|*kat-|t=to plait]], thinks a loanword more likely.^(de Vaan 2008) DEI and Devoto suggest a Mediterranean relic word.^(DEI|788)^(Devoto 1968|83)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is a Savona document of 1178–1182, and the LEI gives the Old Ligurian form from the same text.^(TLIO)^(LEI|12, 923) DELI's first literary record is in the Cremonese poet Girardo Patecchio at the beginning of the 13th century, in the sense “building to live in”, and the sense “the people living in a house, household” is in a Florentine document of 1233.^(DELI 1999) Patecchio wrote: “Mei è a l'om aver poco con 'legreza et amore / ch'aver piena la casa con plaid e con romore” (better to have little with joy and love than a house full of quarrels and noise).^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the dwelling the word passed early to those who live in it and to the family line: Dante uses ''casa'' for a lineage and for a religious house, a monastery.^(DELI 1999) The TLIO records Old Italian uses for the Kingdom of Heaven (''casa del Padre''), for a church (''casa di Dio''), for an animal's den and for each of the twelve houses of the sky in astrology.^(TLIO) A building for many people, such as a hospital or hostel, is in Guicciardini before 1540, and a commercial firm in Filippo Sassetti in 1557, a sense Prati links with French ''maison''.^(DELI 1999)^(Prati 1951|248)

+

+ In some northern and Tuscan dialects ''casa'' came to mean the kitchen, and southern Italy calls hell ''casa cauda'' “the hot house”.^(DEI|788)^(REW 1935) Several modern phrases are calques: ''casa di salute'' and ''casa di tolleranza'' from French ''maison de santé'' and ''maison de tolérance'', ''casa di correzione'' from English ''house of correction'', and ''Casa Bianca'' from ''White House'' (1918).^(DELI 1999) English slang took the word as ''casa'' “house; brothel” at the end of the 18th century, and later ''karzy'' “lavatory” (1961).^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1178–1182 – ''Casa'' appears in a Savona document.^(TLIO)

+ * Early 13th century – Girardo Patecchio uses ''casa''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1233 – ''Casa'' “household” in a Florentine document.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses ''casa'' for a lineage and for a monastery.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1540 – ''Casa'' for a building for many people, in Guicciardini.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1557 – ''Casa'' “firm, company” in Filippo Sassetti.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Late 18th century – English slang ''casa'' “house” is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1918 – ''Casa Bianca'' is recorded as a calque of ''White House''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|house]], a building divided into rooms or flats for people to live in: ''una casa di tre piani con l'orto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # [[m|en|home]], one's own dwelling or flat: ''torno a casa alle sette'', ''cerchiamo casa in centro''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The family, the household: ''telefono a casa ogni sera''; also with a family name: ''casa Rossi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A [[m|en|dynasty]], a noble family line: ''la casa reale''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # A building for a community or institution: ''casa di riposo'', ''casa dello studente'', ''casa di cura''.^(Treccani 2011)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # A [[m|en|firm]], a company: ''casa editrice'', ''casa discografica''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # One's own country: ''giocare in casa'' (to play at home).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(games)'' A square of a chessboard or draughtboard, ''(astrology)'' one of the twelve houses of the sky.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[casale]]

+ * [[casalinga]]

+ * [[casalingo]]

+ * [[casata]]

+ * [[casato]]

+ * [[caseggiato]]

+ * [[casella]]

+ * [[casello]]

+ * [[casino]]

+ * [[casolare]]

+ * [[casotto]]

+ * [[casupola]]

+ * [[accasare]]

+ * [[rincasare]]

+ * [[casigliano]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[duomo]]

+ * [[la|casa]]

+ * [[fr|chez]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''A casa'' and ''in casa'' both mean “at home”, and ''a casa di'' “at someone's house”;^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) ''essere di casa'' is to be a regular visitor.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) Fixed phrases include ''casa dolce casa'' (home sweet home), ''fatto in casa'' (homemade) and ''essere casa e chiesa'' (to live only for home and church).^(Wiktionary)^(Treccani 2011) The /s/ is voiceless in standard and Tuscan pronunciation and voiced in the north.^(Wiktionary)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}