ricordo Italian · revision 37702

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1306, Pomarance document|origins=la cor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /riˈkɔr.do/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ricordo''' ''m'' (plural ricordi)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|recordo]], [[roa-oit|racordo]] and [[roa-oit|ricuordo]].^(GDLI|16, 147)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a noun formed [[af|it|ricordare|-o]], from the verb meaning “to remember”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto 1968|370) GDLI rejects an earlier record in the 13th-century poet Pannuccio del Bagno as too early to be credible.^(GDLI|16, 147) Compare [[scn|rigordu]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The verb is a learned word from [[la|recordor|t=to call to mind]], formed from [[m|la|cor|t=heart]] (genitive ⟨cordis⟩) with the prefix [[m|la|re-]], since the heart was held to be the seat of memory: properly “to put back into the heart”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) It has parallels in [[fro|recorder]], [[es|recordar]] and [[pt|recordar]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's earliest record is the phrase ''essere ai ricordi'' “to be present in someone's memory”, in a document of 1306 from Pomarance, near Volterra.^(DELI 1999) The noun alone, “the act of recalling”, is in Domenico Cavalca before 1342;^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|16, 147) GDLI quotes him: “nullo ricordo e sentimento v'ho” (I have no memory or feeling of it).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|16, 147)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Matteo Villani, before 1363, uses the word for an oral or written tradition, especially of historical events.^(DELI 1999) The sense “something that serves as a reminder, keepsake” is in Angelo Poliziano before 1494, “the thing remembered” in Carlo Tenca before 1883, and “memory of people or events of the past” in Petrocchi's dictionary in 1891.^(DELI 1999) Tommaseo–Bellini records the mark that an illness leaves behind, and Zingarelli an obsolete sense “advice, warning”, quoting Ariosto.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ The diminutive ''ricordino'' meant a small ring given as a token of affection (before 1767), and later a card with a holy picture, printed in memory of a dead person or of a ceremony (1963).^(DELI 1999) English took ''ricordo'' in 1926, and in 1974 used it in art for a painter's copy of another painter's work.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1306 – A document from Pomarance has ''essere ai ricordi''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses ''ricordo'' for the act of recalling.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1363 – Matteo Villani uses it for a historical tradition.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1494 – Angelo Poliziano uses it for a keepsake.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+ * Before 1767 – ''ricordino'' is recorded for a small ring.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1891 – Petrocchi records the sense “memory of the past”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1926 – English ''ricordo'' is first recorded.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of remembering or of being remembered; [[m|en|remembrance]]: ''Sorrise al ricordo di quella vacanza.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A [[m|en|memory]], something remembered; an image of past people or things kept in the mind: ''È uno dei miei primi ricordi.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The memory of facts or people kept by later generations.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A [[m|en|keepsake]] or [[m|en|souvenir]], an object that keeps the memory of someone or something alive: ''Mi ha lasciato la sua penna per ricordo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A written note made to remember something.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(by extension)'' A mark left by an event, usually an unpleasant one, such as a [[m|en|scar]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(chiefly in the plural)'' Monuments and remains of the past.^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(invariable, after a noun)'' Commemorative, serving as a reminder: ''foto ricordo'', ''francobollo ricordo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ricordino]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ricordare]]

+ * [[ricordanza]]

+ * [[scordare]]

+ * [[cuore]]

+ * [[la|recordor]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Per ricordo'' and ''in ricordo di'' mean “as a keepsake” and “in memory of”, and ''a perenne ricordo'' is a formula of memorial plaques.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The same spelling is the first person singular present of [[ricordare]].^(Wikizionario)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}