servizio Italian · revision 38010

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1306, Iacopone da Todi|origins=la servus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /serˈvit.t͡sjo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''servizio''' ''m'' (plural servizi)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned borrowing, [[bor|la|servitium|t=slavery; the condition of a slave]], derived from [[m|la|servus|t=slave]].^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|3465)^(GDLI|18, 781)^(Wiktionary) Nocentini treats [[servigio]] together with this word and sees that variant as the northern outcome of the same Latin noun;^(Nocentini 2010) Meyer-Lübke instead took that variant from Old Occitan [[m|pro|servizi]].^(REW 1935) The Latin word continues in [[fro|serviz]], [[fr|service]], [[pro|servezi]], [[es|servicio]] and [[pt|serviço]].^(REW 1935)^(DEI|3465)^(Wiktionary) Its use for the opening stroke in tennis and similar sports is a calque of [[en|service]].^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(GDLI|18, 781)

+

+ Devoto analysed the Latin noun as an abstract of the word for slave with a suffix ⟨-itium⟩ taken from words like [[m|la|initium]].^(Devoto 1968) De Vaan, following Rix, reconstructs [[itc-pro|*serwo-|t=shepherd, guardian]], which in Italy came down in the world to mean “slave” between about 700 and 450 BC; the root would be that of [[ine-pro|*ser-|t=to watch over]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Sardinian form ''serviziu'' appears in the ''Condaghi'' of the 12th century, and the first Italian record of ''servizio'' is in Iacopone da Todi (before 1306), for the act of serving and the condition of a servant.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|18, 781) The oldest Sardinian examples concern the duties owed to a church or to a judge.^(GDLI|18, 781)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian the word belonged to the language of vassalage and courts: to be ''a servizio'' or ''in servizio di'' a lord meant to be in his pay or under his authority.^(GDLI|18, 781) The sense “favour, kindness” is recorded in the 14th century, and the ironic ''un bel servizio!'' “a fine mess!” is in Manzoni's ''Fermo e Lucia'' (1821–1823).^(DELI 1999) The variant ''servigio'' served for many of the same senses and is now literary.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ Work as a domestic servant is recorded from 1673, in Paolo Segneri, and the work of an employee, especially in public service, from Galileo (before 1642).^(DELI 1999) In the 19th century ''servizio'' came to mean a set of tableware (1803) and an organized public service such as the postal or telegraph service, which Tommaseo found French in flavour (1873).^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The journalist's report, ''nostro servizio particolare'', dates from 1939, the opening stroke in tennis from 1937, and the plural ''servizi'' for the kitchen and bathroom of a flat from 1960.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 12th century – Sardinian ''serviziu'' appears in the ''Condaghi''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses ''servizio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – The sense “favour” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1642 – Galileo uses the word for an employee's work.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1673 – Paolo Segneri uses it for domestic service.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1803 – A ''servizio'' of tableware is recorded in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1937 – The tennis sense appears in the ''Enciclopedia italiana''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1939 – ''Servizio'' is used for a newspaper report.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|service]], devotion to a person, a cause or an ideal; in polite formulas, readiness to help: ''Ha messo la sua vita al servizio dei poveri.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # Work for an employer, especially a public body; being on duty: ''Prende servizio alle otto e smonta a mezzanotte.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Domestic work in a private house: ''donna di servizio'', a housemaid, ''scala di servizio'', the back stairs.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The service in a bar, restaurant or hotel, and its charge: ''Il conto comprende il servizio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(military)'' Service in the armed forces, and a single duty such as guard or patrol: ''servizio militare''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A [[m|en|favour]], a good turn; ironically, a bad turn: ''Bel servizio mi ha fatto quel meccanico!''^(Gabrielli 2020)^(DELI 1999)

+ # A public service or [[m|en|utility]] organized by the State or another body, such as transport or health care.^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(Wikizionario)

+ # A set of tableware: ''un servizio di piatti''.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A newspaper, radio or television report.^(DELI 1999)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(plural)'' The kitchen and bathroom of a flat; a [[m|en|bathroom]].^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(sports)'' The [[m|en|serve]] in tennis, volleyball and table tennis.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[disservizio]]

+ * [[servizievole]]

+ * [[serviziale]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[servire]]

+ * [[servigio]]

+ * [[servo]]

+ * [[servitù]]

+ * [[la|servitium]]

+ * [[fr|service]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Fuori servizio'' means “off duty” of a person and “out of order” of a machine.^(Zingarelli 2010) ''Servizio'' and ''servigio'' were once used interchangeably;^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Tommaseo noted that in the ironic sense ''servizio'' was the commoner of the two.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}