contatto Italian · revision 38024

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=after 1298, Questioni filosofiche (south-eastern Tuscan)|origins=la tangō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /konˈtat.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''contatto''' ''m'' (plural contatti)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also wrote ''contacto'', and southern texts ''contattu''.^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|contāctus|t=a touching, contact]], a learned word.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|1074)^(GDLI) The Latin noun is formed on the past participle of [[m|la|contingō|t=to touch, come into contact]], from [[m|la|con-]] and [[m|la|tangō|t=to touch]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(GDLI)^(OLD 2012) [[contagio|alt=Contagio]] comes from the same verb, and [[tatto]] from the simple one.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968) The same word is [[fr|contact]] (1611) and [[es|contacto]].^(DEI|1074)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The verb [[contattare]] and the noun [[contattore]] are modelled on [[en|contact]] (1834) and [[m|en|contactor]] (1910).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the ''Questioni filosofiche'', a south-eastern Tuscan text of after 1298, for the fact of one thing touching another.^(TLIO) DELI's first record is in Leonardo, before 1519: the nerves in the fingertips “carry to the senses the cause of their contact”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|3, 633)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already used the word figuratively, for a ''contatto di virtù'', and for having to do with something.^(TLIO) The GDLI records it for the way a contagion spreads, and Bruno and Galileo used it in physics.^(GDLI|3, 633) The sense “relation, link between people” is recorded in 1834 in Carlo Botta, and the electrical contact that opens or closes a circuit in 1818, in Giovanni Rasori.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ In the 20th century came ''contattare'' “to get in touch with” and ''contattore'' (both 1963), ''contattologo'', the specialist in contact lenses (before 1973), and the sense “informant, contact” in secret work.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) In the plural ''contatti'' are also the details by which a person or a firm can be reached.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * After 1298 – ''Contatto'' in the ''Questioni filosofiche''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1519 – Leonardo uses it for bodies that touch.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1611 – French ''contact'' is recorded.^(DEI|1074)

+ * 1818 – Giovanni Rasori uses it for an electrical contact.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1834 – Carlo Botta uses it for “relation”, English ''contact'' (verb) is first recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1963 – ''Contattare'' and ''contattore'' are recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The touching of two or more things; [[m|en|contact]]: ''Il virus si trasmette per contatto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(geology)'' The surface or zone between two rock formations or strata.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(military)'' The first phase of an armed clash, when the two sides come close.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A relation, communication between people: ''Siamo rimasti in contatto per anni.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # In secret activities, a person who acts as an agent or a source of information.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # A connection by telephone or radio: ''un contatto radio''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(electricity)'' A [[m|en|conductor]] that makes or breaks a circuit, ''(colloquial)'' a fault caused by it.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''(in the plural)'' Contact details, such as addresses and telephone numbers.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[contattare]]

+ * [[contattore]]

+ * [[contattologo]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[contagio]]

+ * [[tatto]]

+ * [[contingente]]

+ * [[la|tangō]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Lenti a contatto'' are contact lenses, and ''a contatto con'' means “in contact with”.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}