faro Italian · revision 37800

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1264, Percivalle Doria|origins=grc Φάρος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈfa.ro/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''faro''' ''m'' (plural fari)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old texts also have [[roa-oit|fare]] and [[m|roa-oit|far]].^(TLIO)^(GDLI|5, 692)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|pharus|alt=Pharus]], from [[grc|Φάρος|tr=Pháros]], the name of a small island off Alexandria in Egypt.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) There Ptolemy II Philadelphus built in the 3rd century BC a great tower with a light for ships, counted among the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, and its name passed to every such tower.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The GDLI quotes Isidore of Seville, who explains that Greeks and Latins alike named the lighthouse after the use made of it.^(GDLI|5, 692)

+

+ The same word is [[fr|phare]] (1553, beside [[fro|far]] and [[m|fro|faron]]) and [[es|faro]].^(DEI|1601)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in the poet Percivalle Doria before 1264, who says that in a storm the lighthouse still shines.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|5, 692) The TLIO also has it in the Venetian ''Proverbia que dicuntur''.^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the 14th century the word also named a narrow strait marked by a lighthouse, and especially the Strait of Messina (''Faro di Messina'').^(TLIO)^(DIFIT)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The kingdoms ''di qua'' and ''di là dal faro'', on either side of the strait, appear in Ariosto.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) English borrowed this sense as ''fare'' in 1628.^(DIFIT)

+

+ The sense “powerful light source” is recorded by Tommaseo in 1869.^(DELI 1999) In the 20th century the word came to name the headlights of cars and trains, and figuratively a guide or beacon (''un faro per i giovani'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Recent journalism uses ''accendere un faro su'' for turning attention on something.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1264 – Percivalle Doria uses ''faro''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1348–1353 – ''Fare'' is used for a strait.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1628 – English ''fare'' is recorded for the Strait of Messina.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1869 – Tommaseo records the sense “powerful light”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|lighthouse]], the signalling light on the coast that guides ships at night; the tower that carries it: ''Il faro del porto si vede da molto lontano.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A powerful [[m|en|floodlight]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A [[m|en|headlight]] of a car, train or aircraft, mostly in the plural: ''Ricordati di accendere i fari in galleria.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A guide or point of reference: ''un faro per i giovani''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(historical)'' A strait, especially the Strait of Messina.^(TLIO)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[faretto]]

+ * [[farista]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fanale]]

+ * [[la|pharus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Faro galleggiante'' is a lightship.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) ''Fari abbaglianti'' and ''fari anabbaglianti'' are high and low beams.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}