parola Italian · revision 37839

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1239–1250, G. Fava|origins=grc παραβολή}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /paˈrɔ.la/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''parola''' ''f'' (plural parole)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also had ''paraula'', ''paravola'', ''parabola'' and ''paraola'', and Tuscan and southern dialects have ''palòra''.^(Prati 1951|744)^(GDLI)^(DEI|2780)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*paraula]], [[inh|la-lat|parabola|t=parable; word]], [[der|grc|παραβολή|tr=parabolḗ|t=comparison]], a noun of [[m|grc|παραβάλλω|tr=parabállō|t=to place beside, compare]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary) The intervocalic /b/ weakened and was lost, and the diphthong /au/ became /ɔ/, as in [[fola]] from [[m|la|fābula]].^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ The Greek word meant “comparison” and, as a term of rhetoric, is found in Seneca;^(DELI 1999) Christian writers used it for the parables of Jesus, and by the Vulgate it had come to mean simply “word”.^(DELI 1999) Nocentini traces the change to the Septuagint, where the Greek word rendered [[hbo|מָשָׁל|tr=māšāl]], a word for both “comparison” and “saying, proverb”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) In the Church [[m|la|verbum]] had taken on the sense of the divine Word, and the Late Latin word replaced it in nearly all the Romance languages.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2780)^(REW 1935) The outcomes include [[fr|parole]], [[oc|paraula]], [[ca|paraula]], [[fur|peraule]], [[dlm|palaura]] and [[es|palabra]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Wiktionary) [[parabola]] is the learned doublet.^(Wiktionary)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in the letters of the Bolognese master G. Fava (1239–1250), in the sense “word, term”.^(DELI 1999) GDLI quotes the old form in the ''Ritmo cassinese'': “Ei, paraola dissensata!” (oh, senseless word!).^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From “word” the noun soon covered speech in general and what one says: Dante uses it for the faculty of speech, and the Old Italian writers for a teaching or saying.^(GDLI)^(Prati 1951|744)^(DEI|2780) Old Italian also used ''parola'' for “permission”, a sense still found in Lucca and Pistoia.^(DIFIT)^(DEI|2780) The sense “promise, word of honour” (''dare la parola'', ''uomo di parola'') belongs to the modern core.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ Several phrases follow French: ''gioco di parole'' is modelled on ''jeu de mots'', ''parola d'ordine'' on ''mot d'ordre'', and ''prendere in parola'' probably on ''prendre au mot''.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2780) ''Parola chiave'' renders English ''key word'', and Saussure's ''parole'' gave the linguistic sense “individual use of language”.^(DELI 1999) The crossword was called ''parole incrociate'' by Giuseppe Aroldi.^(DELI 1999) Italian ''parola'' passed through Ottoman Turkish into modern [[tr|parola|t=password]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1239–1250 – G. Fava's letters have the first dated record.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1313 – ''Parola'' is used for “permission”.^(DIFIT)

+ * Before 1472 – Leon Battista Alberti uses ''parolaccia'' “swear word”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1473 – Lorenzo de' Medici uses ''parolina''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * c. 1638 – German takes ''Parola'' “password” in Italianate spelling.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1927 – Panzini records ''parole incrociate'' “crossword”.^(DEI|2780)

+ * 1928 – ''Paroliere'' “lyricist” appears, from French ''parolier''.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|word]], a unit of language, spoken or written: ''Non conosco questa parola.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(often plural)'' What someone says; remarks, words: ''Le sue parole mi hanno commosso.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # [[m|en|speech|alt=Speech]], the faculty of speaking: ''Per lo spavento ha perso la parola.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The right to speak in a meeting, the [[m|en|floor]]: ''prendere la parola'', ''dare la parola''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A [[m|en|promise]], one's word of honour: ''mantenere la parola'', ''un uomo di parola''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Christianity)'' The Word, the teaching of God or Christ: ''la Parola di Dio''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(computing)'' A word, a group of bits handled as one unit.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[parolaccia]]

+ * [[parolaio]]

+ * [[paroliere]]

+ * [[parolina]]

+ * [[parolona]]

+ * [[parolone]]

+ * [[paroletta]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[parlare]]

+ * [[parabola]]

+ * [[fr|parole]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common set phrases include ''in poche parole'' “in short”, ''in altre parole'' “in other words”, ''parola per parola'' “word for word” and ''parola d'ordine'' “password, slogan”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}