legge Italian · revision 37892

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=13th century, Storie de Troia et de Roma|origins=la lēx}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈled.d͡ʒe/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''legge''' ''f'' (plural leggi)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|lege]], recorded in the 13th century.^(DELI 1999) The GDLI also lists old and dialect [[roa-oit|leze]] and [[roa-oit|léggie]].^(GDLI|8, 895)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|lēx|t=law]], from the accusative ⟨lēgem⟩, with the doubled ⟨gg⟩ that is regular in Tuscan before a front vowel.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) The word is common to the Romance languages: [[fr|loi]], [[oc|lei]], [[ca|llei]], [[es|ley]], [[pt|lei]] and [[ro|lege]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

+

+ DELI and Devoto describe the Latin noun as an old term for binding religious law, with parallels only in Indo-Iranian, and DEI compares [[ae|rāzar-|t=rule, direction]].^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto 1968)^(DEI|2194) Nocentini adds Oscan–Umbrian cognates and thinks it belongs with [[m|la|legō]] in the sense “to pronounce”, so that a law was at first a solemn statement.^(Nocentini 2010) De Vaan reconstructs a root noun [[itc-pro|*lēg-]], possibly “a collection” of rules, and finds no sure cognate outside Italic.^(de Vaan 2008) The Christian sense came in with 4th-century writers, who used Latin ⟨lex⟩ to translate [[grc|νόμος|tr=nómos]], itself the rendering of [[hbo|תּוֹרָה|tr=tōrā]].^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is the form ''lege'' in the 13th-century ''Storie de Troia et de Roma'', and the form ''legge'' in Brunetto Latini, before 1294, for a rule laid down by those who govern.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294, uses it more broadly for any rule of conduct.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “The legal order of a state” is recorded about 1300, in the translation of Albertano, and “the science of law” in Giovanni Villani before 1348.^(DELI 1999) The rule of an art or technique is in a 14th-century translation of Saint Jerome, and the scientific law, a constant relation between the quantities of a phenomenon, in Lorenzo Magalotti before 1712.^(DELI 1999) A 14th-century commentary on the Lord's Prayer, quoted by Tommaseo, explains that law is so called because it binds (''lega'').^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861|2, 1791)

+

+ The 20th century added political compounds: ''legge delega'' (1955), ''legge ponte'' and ''legge quadro'' (1965) and ''legge truffa'', the nickname of the electoral law of 1953.^(DELI 1999) DELI derives ''legge quadro'' from German ''Rahmengesetz'', probably through French ''loi-cadre''.^(DELI 1999) The diminutive ''leggina'' is in Italo Svevo, and, from 1965 it is a law made to favour narrow interests.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – ''Lege'' appears in the ''Storie de Troia et de Roma''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''legge''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * c. 1300 – The translation of Albertano uses it for a legal order.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it for the science of law.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1712 – Lorenzo Magalotti uses it for a scientific law.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1798 – ''Uomo di legge'' “jurist” is recorded in Genoa.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1965 – ''Legge quadro'' and ''legge ponte'' are recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A principle that governs human conduct, such as the moral, natural or divine [[m|en|law]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A [[m|en|statute]] passed by a legislature: ''Il parlamento ha approvato la nuova legge sul lavoro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # The law as a whole, the legal system of a state: ''Nessuno è al di sopra della legge.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # Law as a subject of study, [[m|en|jurisprudence]]: ''Mio fratello studia legge a Bologna.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(figurative)'' The rules of an art, discipline or activity.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''(science)'' A constant relation between the variables of a phenomenon: ''la legge di gravità''.^(DELI 1999)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The authorities that enforce the law: ''in nome della legge''.^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[leggina]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[legale]]

+ * [[legittimo]]

+ * [[legislatore]]

+ * [[leggere]]

+ * [[la|lex]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases include ''dettare legge'' “to lay down the law”, ''fuori legge'' “outside the law”, ''decreto legge'' “decree having the force of law” and ''disegno di legge'' “bill”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}