ritardo Italian · revision 38102

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1492, Lorenzo de' Medici|origins=la tardō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /riˈtar.do/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ritardo''' ''m'' (plural ritardi)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a noun formed from the verb [[ritardare]] “to delay”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto 1968) The verb, recorded from 1282, is a learned word, [[bor|la|retardō|t=to delay, hold back]], from [[m|la|tardō|t=to delay]] with the prefix [[m|la|re-]], “to delay further”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The same Latin verb gave [[fr|retarder]] and [[es|retardar]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Lorenzo de' Medici, before 1492, with the sense “the act of delaying”: in his ''Simposio'' a man “stopped his pace and made a delay” (''fermò il suo passo, e fe' ritardo'').^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the 17th century the noun is used for arriving or doing something after the set time, and for the length of that delay.^(GDLI|16, 922) Tommaseo regarded ''essere in ritardo'' as a French turn of phrase.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) In music ''ritardo'' is the suspension, a note of a chord prolonged into the next one, explained by Giovanni Battista Martini in 1774.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The 20th century added ''riguadagnare il ritardo'', to make up lost time (1939–1940), the sense “slowing down” (1939–1940) and ''ritardo mentale'', slowed intellectual development (1973).^(DELI 1999) In pharmacology ''ritardo'' is used after a noun as an invariable adjective for slow-release preparations.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1282 – Restoro d'Arezzo uses the verb ''ritardare''.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Before 1492 – Lorenzo de' Medici uses ''ritardo''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1774 – Giovanni Battista Martini uses it for the musical suspension.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1939–1940 – Palazzi records ''riguadagnare il ritardo''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1973 – ''Ritardo mentale'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|delay]]: being later than expected or agreed: ''Ci scusiamo per il ritardo della consegna.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The length of a delay: ''Il volo è partito con un'ora di ritardo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Hesitation, delay in acting: ''Bisogna intervenire senza ritardo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Slowing down, [[m|en|lag]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(music)'' A [[m|en|suspension]]: one or more notes of a chord held into the following chord.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(psychology)'' ''Ritardo mentale'': intellectual development below what is normal for a person's age.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(pharmacology, invariable adjective)'' Slow-release: ''un farmaco ritardo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ritardista]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ritardare]]

+ * [[la|retardō]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''In ritardo'' means late: ''essere in ritardo'', ''arrivare in ritardo''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary) ''Ritardo di marea'' in geography is the interval between the moon's passing the meridian and high tide.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}