aspetto Italian · revision 37750

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1282, Restoro d'Arezzo|origins=la speciō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /asˈpɛt.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''aspetto''' ''m'' (plural aspetti)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|espetto]] and [[roa-oit|aspietto]], used in Rome.^(TLIO)^(LEI|3, 1698)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|aspectus|t=look, sight; appearance]], from [[m|la|aspiciō|t=to look at]], from [[m|la|ad-]] and [[m|la|speciō|t=to look]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto 1968|44) The LEI notes that Italian continues the Latin senses “look, sight” and “appearance”, the latter already in Cato, and the medieval astronomical sense “phase of a planet”, found in Albertus Magnus in the 13th century; [[fr|aspect]] has that sense from 1467.^(LEI|3, 1698) DEI notes that the sense “gaze” is in Gregory the Great, about 600.^(DEI|325) The same Latin word gave [[es|aspecto]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The grammatical sense, the aspect of a verb, is a calque of [[ru|вид|tr=vid]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is Restoro d'Arezzo, 1282, and Zingarelli and Devoto–Oli give the same date.^(TLIO)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) DELI's first records are in Jacopone, before 1306, for “sight, gaze” and “countenance, figure”.^(DELI 1999) The LEI has the sense “semblance, appearance” before 1294 in Guittone d'Arezzo.^(LEI|3, 1698)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the ''Paradiso'' Dante writes “e la mia donna in lor tenea l'aspetto” (and my lady kept her gaze on them), a sense now literary.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Boccaccio has ''nel primo aspetto'' “at first sight” (1353), and ''a primo aspetto'' is recorded from 1862.^(LEI|3, 1698) The TLIO's senses also include the field of view, the outward appearance of a thing, and the human countenance or face.^(TLIO)

+

+ The figurative “point of view, side of a question” is recorded in 1681 in Filippo Baldinucci, and the grammatical sense in 1882, in D. De Vivo's grammar of Russian.^(DELI 1999) In astrology a planet is said to be ''in buon aspetto'' when its position is favourable.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1282 – Restoro d'Arezzo uses ''aspetto''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses it for “appearance”.^(LEI|3, 1698)

+ * Before 1306 – Jacopone uses it for “sight” and “countenance”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1353 – Boccaccio has ''nel primo aspetto'' “at first sight”.^(LEI|3, 1698)

+ * 1681 – Filippo Baldinucci uses it for “point of view”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1882 – The grammatical sense appears in a Russian grammar.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The way a person or thing looks, [[m|en|appearance]]: ''Aveva l'aspetto di chi non dorme da giorni.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' [[m|en|aspect]], side, point of view: ''considerare la proposta sotto ogni aspetto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(literary)'' Sight, gaze, ''a primo aspetto'', at first sight.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(astrology, astronomy)'' The relative position of two planets.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(grammar)'' Verbal aspect, the way a verb presents an action as lasting, beginning or completed.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[aspettuale]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[aspettare]]

+ * [[specie]]

+ * [[la|aspectus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate noun ''aspetto'' “waiting”, formed from [[aspettare]], is recorded from Guittone, before 1294; it survives in ''sala d'aspetto'' “waiting room”, ''battuta d'aspetto'' “bar's rest” in music and ''caccia all'aspetto'', hunting by lying in wait.^(TLIO)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(DEI|325) ''Aspetto'' is also the first person singular present of ''aspettare'' (“I wait”).^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}