vita Italian · revision 37564

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1294, Brunetto Latini|origins=ine-pro *gʷeyh₃-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈvi.ta/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vita''' ''f'' (plural vite)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|vīta|t=life]], a derivative of [[m|la|vīvus|t=alive]] or of the root of [[m|la|vīvō|t=to live]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) Devoto explains it as an abstract noun from a form ⟨*vivitā⟩, made with a suffix ⟨-tā⟩, a type also found in Celtic, Baltic and Slavic.^(Devoto 1968|473)^(DELI 1999) The word is panromance: [[fr|vie]], [[oc|vida]], [[ca|vida]], [[es|vida]], [[pt|vida]], [[sc|vida]], and [[ro|vită]], which means “animal, cattle”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The Latin word goes back to [[itc-pro|*gʷītā]], possibly from [[ine-pro|*gʷih₃wo-teh₂]], from the root [[m|ine-pro|*gʷeyh₃-|t=to live]].^(Wiktionary) Related nouns are [[grc|βίοτος|tr=bíotos|t=life]], [[sga|bethu]], [[cu|животъ|tr=životŭ]] and [[lt|gyvatà]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Nocentini and GRADIT date the word to before 1294;^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999) DELI's earliest dated sense is “what is needed to live, food”, in Brunetto Latini before 1294.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999) DEI and Sabatini–Coletti date it to the 13th century.^(DEI|4070)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Nocentini notes that Latin ''vita'' already had nearly all the Italian senses: way of living, state, the experience of life, a living being, a beloved person, the span of a life and a biography;^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) Latin had also taken new senses from Greek ''bíos''.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) In Italian, “span of life” is in Dante (1300–1313), “way of life” in Iacopone and Petrarch, “biography” in Domenico Cavalca before 1342, and the biological sense in Boccaccio.^(DELI 1999) The term of endearment ''vita mia'' goes back to Latin ''mea vita''.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|4070)

+

+ The only new sense is the waist, the part of the body above the hips, so called because the vital organs lie there; it is first recorded in Lorenzo Magalotti's ''Diario di Francia'' of 1668, and as the part of a garment in 1811.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999) An older sense “build, figure” survives in dialects.^(DEI|4070)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Derivatives include ''vitale'' (13th century, from Latin ''vitalis''), ''vitalizio'' and ''vitaiolo'' “playboy” (1918), suggested by Ferdinando Martini to replace French ''viveur''.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) ''La dolce vita'' is one of many set phrases.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''vita'' for the means of living.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses it for the span of a life.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses it for a biography.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for life as a biological state.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1668 – Magalotti uses ''vita'' for the waist.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1811 – The waist of a garment is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1918 – ''Vitaiolo'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|life]], the condition of living beings: ''la vita negli oceani'', ''essere in vita'', to be alive.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The time from birth to death, a lifetime: ''ha viaggiato per tutta la vita'', ''a vita'', for life.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' A very long time: ''ti aspetto da una vita''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A way of living: ''fare una vita tranquilla''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Liveliness, activity: ''una città piena di vita''.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A living person: ''l'incidente è costato tre vite''.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A [[m|en|biography]]: ''le vite dei santi''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # The [[m|en|waist]]: ''avere la vita sottile'', and the part of a garment around it.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vitale]]

+ * [[vitalità]]

+ * [[vitalizio]]

+ * [[vitaiolo]]

+ * [[vitaccia]]

+ * [[avvitato]]

+ * [[devitalizzare]]

+ * [[carovita]]

+ * [[girovita]]

+ * [[salvavita]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vivere]]

+ * [[vivo]]

+ * [[vitto]]

+ * [[la|vīta]]

+ * [[fr|vie]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''dare la vita per'' (to die for), ''togliersi la vita'' (to take one's life), ''in fin di vita'' (dying), ''o la borsa o la vita!'' (your money or your life!) and ''su con la vita!'' (chin up!).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}