radio Italian · revision 38200

+ Italian has three nouns spelled ''radio'', all going back to Latin ''radius'' “rod; ray; spoke”: the bone of the forearm, a learned word of the 16th century; the chemical element, named after French ''radium''; and the feminine ''radio'' of broadcasting, short for ''radiofonia'' and similar compounds.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) DELI and Nocentini number them in this order, while GRADIT puts the broadcasting word first.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ {{homograph|1|radius (bone)}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1598, John Florio|origins=la radius}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈra.djo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''radio''' ''m'' (plural radi)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The bone of the forearm is a learned word, [[bor|la|radius|t=rod, staff; ray; spoke]], named for its straight shape.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Nocentini takes it from Late Latin, where the word had come to name the bone because it looks like the spoke of a wheel.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) The anatomical term is also [[fr|radius]] and [[es|radio]].^(Nocentini 2010) The same Latin noun, inherited, gave [[raggio]] “ray” and [[razzo]] “spoke; rocket”, which Wiktionary lists as doublets.^(Wiktionary)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The origin of the Latin word is unknown.^(DELI 1999)^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan rejects a link with [[la|rādīx|t=root]], because the meanings are too far apart, and finds no clear root for it.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in John Florio's Italian–English dictionary of 1598, for one of the two bones of the forearm, on the side of the thumb.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Before the anatomical term, Old Italian had used ''radio'' as a learned form of ''raggio'' “ray” from the 14th century, as in the commentaries on Dante, where the rays of the eyes are held back by the lead of a mirror;^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Zingarelli 2010) Tommaseo and Zingarelli mark that use as obsolete.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Zingarelli 2010) Zingarelli also records an obsolete sense for the sliding rod of the cross-staff used to measure the height of the stars.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ The adjective ''radiale'' “of the radius” is recorded in Giovanni Torriano's dictionary in 1659.^(DELI 1999) In comparative anatomy the word also names the middle segment of the fore limb of the four-footed vertebrates.^(GDLI)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 14th century – ''Radio'' is used in the sense “ray”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+ * 1598 – John Florio records ''radio'' for the bone of the forearm.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1659 – Giovanni Torriano records ''osso radiale''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(anatomy)'' The [[m|en|radius]], the long bone on the thumb side of the forearm, which with the [[ulna]] forms its skeleton.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' A [[m|en|ray]] of light, the same as ''raggio''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[radiale]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|radium}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1904|origins=la radius}}

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''radio''' ''m'' (plural radi)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The chemical element is [[bor|fr|radium]], the name Pierre and Marie Curie gave in 1898 to the element they had discovered, from [[la|radius|t=ray]], because it gives off rays.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Wiktionary analyses the French name as [[m|fr|radioactif|alt=radio(actif)]] with the suffix [[m|fr|-ium]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Panzini's dictionary of 1905 records the French form beside the Italian one, and Migliorini explained that the form in “-ium” lived on less for international use than to avoid confusion with the anatomical word.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Nocentini, Zingarelli and Sabatini–Coletti date the word to 1904, and DELI to Panzini's dictionary of 1905.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999) Prati gives 1904 for ''radioattività'', the property that gave the element its name.^(Prati 1951|818)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The element is a strongly radioactive alkaline-earth metal found in uranium ores, and it was used in medicine against tumours;^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DELI 1999) Sabatini–Coletti speak of that use in the past.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DELI 1999) The GDLI notes that it has largely been replaced by cheaper radioactive substances.^(GDLI)

+

+ The element and its rays also gave many scientific compounds in ''radio-'' in the 20th century, which DEI lists, such as ''radiologia'', ''radiografia'' and ''radioterapia''.^(DEI|3194)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1898 – The Curies name the element ''radium''.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1904 – Italian ''radio'' for the element is first recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ * 1905 – Panzini's dictionary records both ''radium'' and ''radio''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(chemistry)'' [[m|en|radium]], the radioactive alkaline-earth metal with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88, found in small amounts in [[uranio|alt=uranium]] ores.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ {{homograph|3|radio (broadcasting)}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=1918, Alfredo Panzini|origins=la radius}}

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''radio''' ''f'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The broadcasting word is a clipping of [[radiofonia]], [[radiotelefonia]], [[radiotelegrafia]], [[radioricevitore]] and [[radiotrasmissione]], compounds of the prefix [[radio-]], from [[la|radius|t=ray]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) Nocentini puts radiotelegraphy first, because radio waves were first used to send telegraph messages.^(Nocentini 2010) Wiktionary compares [[en|radio]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ According to the GDLI the word was born in such compounds and soon came to be used on its own.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Panzini's dictionary of 1918 has the word for a radiotelegraph station, and DELI dates its use for radiotelephony, that is broadcasting, to 1931.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) DEI notes that broadcasting reached Italy in 1924.^(DEI|3194)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word came to mean the receiving set (1939–1940, Palazzi) and then a single broadcast (1959).^(DELI 1999) From 1925 it is also used after a noun as an invariable adjective, as in ''stazione radio'';^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) Migliorini compared the type with ''treno merci'', though ''radio'' behaves more like an adjective.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ Many set phrases followed.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) ''Radio Londra'' was the BBC's Italian service in the Second World War, whose news and coded messages reached the partisans.^(Treccani 2011) ''Radio fante'' and ''radio gavetta'' are jocular names for the way rumours spread among soldiers, and ''radio carcere'' for the same among prisoners.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) The ''radio libere'' were the first private stations, which broke the state monopoly in the 1970s.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The diminutive ''radiolina'', a small portable set, is recorded in 1959.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1918 – Panzini records ''radio'' for a radiotelegraph station.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1924 – Broadcasting is introduced in Italy.^(DEI|3194)

+ * 1925 – ''Radio'' is used after a noun as an adjective.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+ * 1931 – The word is used for broadcasting.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1939–1940 – Palazzi uses it for the receiving set.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1959 – ''Radiolina'' and the sense “broadcast” are recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1970s – The first private stations are called ''radio libere''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|radio]], broadcasting by [[m|en|electromagnetic wave|alt=electromagnetic waves]]; also radiotelegraphy and radiotelephony: ''Il pilota ha chiesto aiuto via radio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A broadcasting organisation, public or private, or a single station: ''Lavora da dieci anni per una radio locale.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A radio set, a [[m|en|receiver]]: ''Spegni la radio, per favore.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A radiotelegraph apparatus.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # Used after a noun as an invariable adjective: using, sending or receiving radio waves, as in ''stazione radio'', ''contatto radio'' and ''giornale radio''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[radiolina]]

+ * [[radiofonico]]

+ * [[radioamatore]]

+ * [[radiocronaca]]

+ * [[radiocronista]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[radiante]]

+ * [[raggio]]

+ * [[razzo]]

+ * [[la|radius]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The anatomical noun has the plural ''radi'' or ''radii'', the element has no plural, and the broadcasting noun is invariable: ''le radio''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) The GDLI also records ''radio'' as a short form of ''radioattivo'' in medicine, as in ''applicazioni radio'', radiotherapy.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}