codice Italian · revision 38163

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=mid-13th century, Ruggieri Apugliese (Siena)|origins=la caudex}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈkɔ.di.t͡ʃe/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''codice''' ''m'' (plural codici)^(Wiktionary)

+ The old form is [[roa-oit|codico]].^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Prati 1951|305)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|cōdex|t=tree trunk; writing tablets; book]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) The Latin word first meant a tree trunk, then a wooden tablet for writing, then a set of tablets joined together, and so a book, an account book and a collection of laws.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|1000)^(Treccani 2011) Its legal sense spread through the European languages thanks to the “Codex Iustinianus”, the code of Justinian, which became the code par excellence.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ “Cōdex” is a younger form of [[m|la|caudex|t=tree trunk]], with the rustic change of “au” to “o”.^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan thinks “caudex” was derived from [[m|la|cauda|t=tail]], and gives the root as [[ine-pro|*keh₂u-d-|t=cleaved, separate]].^(de Vaan 2008) DEI too suggested a link with “cauda”, for the lower part of the tree.^(DEI|1000)

+

+ The same learned word is [[fr|code]], [[ca|codi]], [[es|código]] and [[pt|código]].^(DEI|1000)^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) LEI follows Corominas and Kahane in deriving the old form [[roa-oit|codico]] from a Byzantine form of the name of Justinian's code, spread by the law school of Bologna.^(LEI) The Latin word also survives in popular form in [[rm|cudesch|t=book]].^(LEI)^(REW 1935) [[codificare|alt=Codificare]] (1886) and [[codificazione]] (1847) follow French “codifier” and “codification”, words that arose after the Napoleonic codes.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the Sienese poet Ruggieri Apugliese, in the middle of the 13th century.^(TLIO) Its Old Italian senses are a collection of laws, in particular part of Justinian's collection, often named together with the Digest, and a bound manuscript volume.^(TLIO) DELI finds the sense “manuscript book” in the 14th-century translation of the Bible, which says that the Latin copies are “almost as many versions as codices” (''tanti esemplari quasi, quanti codici'').^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Francesco da Buti used the word before 1406 for the body of laws governing a branch of law.^(DELI 1999) With the study of manuscripts came a vocabulary for describing them: ''codice adespoto'' “without the author's name” (1768), ''codice archetipo'' (1851), ''codice acefalo'' “lacking its first leaves” (1862).^(LEI)^(GDLI) ''Codice diplomatico'', a collection of documents on a city or an institution, is recorded from 1792.^(LEI)

+

+ The sense of a system of conventional signals is recorded in 1932, and the word later took in genetics (''codice genetico''), communication theory and computing.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The ''codice a barre'' (bar code) is found in ''La Repubblica'' in 1985.^(GDLI) In everyday speech ''il codice'' is the penal code, and ''sfiorare il codice'' means to do something close to a crime.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Mid-13th century – Ruggieri Apugliese uses the word for Justinian's code.^(TLIO)

+ * About 1325 – GRADIT's date for the word.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ * 14th century – ''Codice'' “manuscript book” in the Italian Bible.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1406 – Francesco da Buti uses it for a body of laws.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1768 – ''Codice adespoto'' in Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti.^(LEI)

+ * 1847 – ''Codificazione'', after French ''codification''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1886 – ''Codificare'', after French ''codifier''.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1932 – The sense “code of signals”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1985 – ''Codice a barre'' in ''La Repubblica''.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|codex]], a manuscript book, as opposed to a printed one: ''La biblioteca conserva un codice del Trecento con le opere di Dante.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(law)'' A [[m|en|code]], a systematic collection of the laws on a branch of law or a subject: ''codice civile'', ''codice penale'', ''codice della strada''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' The penal code.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A set of rules or customs, written or not, that governs a behaviour or activity: ''codice d'onore'', ''codice deontologico''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # A system of signs and of rules for combining them, used to communicate: ''codice linguistico''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A system of letters, numbers or symbols with conventional meanings, used for brevity or secrecy; a [[m|en|cipher]]: ''un messaggio in codice''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A sequence of characters that identifies a person or thing: ''codice fiscale'' (tax code), ''codice di avviamento postale'' (postcode).^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(computing)'' Code; the instructions that make up a program.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(biology)'' ''Codice genetico'', the genetic code.^(Gabrielli 2020)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[codificare]]

+ * [[codifica]]

+ * [[codificazione]]

+ * [[decodificare]]

+ * [[sottocodice]]

+ * [[codicistico]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[codicillo]]

+ * [[codicologia]]

+ * [[la|caudex]]

+ * [[fr|code]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Codice a barre'' is a bar code, and ''nome in codice'' a code name.^(GDLI)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}