portata Italian · revision 38118

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1281–1282}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /porˈta.ta/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''portata''' ''f'' (plural portate)^(Wiktionary)

+ An old form is [[roa-oit|portada]].^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|it|portare|-ata|t1=to carry]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Treccani and the GDLI describe it as the feminine of the past participle [[portato]], used as a noun.^(Treccani 2011)^(GDLI) The word is first found in Medieval Latin, as [[la-med|portata]], in 1244 in a document of the castle of Bonifacio in Corsica, for the load a ship can carry.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Nocentini dates the Italian word to 1281–1282.^(Nocentini 2010) DELI's first Italian record is in the Venetian navigator Alvise Ca' da Mosto, before 1488, who was given “a new caravel with a burden (''portada'') of about ninety butts”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) The undated example in the maritime code of Amalfi (''Tavola d'Amalfi'') also uses it for a ship's cargo capacity.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word soon spread from ships to other measures of reach and capacity: Vannoccio Biringuccio used it before 1537 for the range of a projectile, and Giovanni Della Casa before 1556 for capacity, weight or importance.^(DELI 1999) Lorenzo Magalotti in 1719 used it for the limit that can be reached by some means, the origin of ''alla portata di'' “within reach of”.^(DELI 1999) In Florence a ''portata'' was also the declaration of harvests and livestock made for taxation, a sense now obsolete.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ The sense “course of a meal” is recorded in 1640, and in 1804 D'Alberti noted that it was the common Italian word for what Tuscans called ''servito'' or ''messo''.^(DELI 1999) In 1816 it appears in hydraulics for the volume of water that passes through a section of a river in a second.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1244 – Medieval Latin ''portata'' is recorded at Bonifacio for a ship's capacity.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1281–1282 – Nocentini's date for the Italian word.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Before 1488 – Alvise Ca' da Mosto uses ''portada'' for the burden of a caravel.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1537 – Biringuccio uses it for the range of a projectile.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1640 – The sense “course of a meal” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1719 – Magalotti uses it for the limit one can reach.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1816 – The sense “flow of a river” appears.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|course]] of a meal: ''Dopo la terza portata nessuno aveva più fame.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The [[m|en|capacity]] of a vehicle, lift or structure: ''Questo montacarichi ha una portata di 500 chili.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The largest value a measuring instrument can measure.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The [[m|en|range]] of a gun or projectile.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The distance the eye, the voice or the hand can reach, ''a portata di mano'' “within reach”, ''alla portata di tutti'' “within everyone's means”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Importance, scope: ''Solo anni dopo si capì la portata di quella legge.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(physics)'' The [[m|en|flow]] of a river or other fluid through a section in a unit of time.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[portare]]

+ * [[portato]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Portata'' is also the feminine of the past participle of ''portare''.^(Wikizionario)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) A ''piatto di portata'' is a serving dish.^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}