luna Italian · revision 38271

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1224, Francis of Assisi|origins=ine-pro *lówksneh₂}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈlu.na/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''luna''' ''f'' (plural lune)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|lūna|t=moon]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The word is found in every Romance language, and DÉRom reconstructs a Proto-Romance noun from them: [[fr|lune]], [[oc|luna]], [[ca|lluna]], [[es|luna]], [[pt|lua]], [[sc|luna]] and [[ro|lună]], which also means “month”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DÉRom)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ The Latin noun goes back to [[itc-pro|*louksnā]], and an inscription from Praeneste still has the older [[la|losna]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) Behind it is [[ine-pro|*lówksneh₂|t=the bright one]], from the root [[ine-pro|*lewk-|t=to shine, be bright]], which also gives [[m|la|lūx|t=light]] and [[m|la|lūmen]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)^(Nocentini 2010) The word was probably first an adjective used as an epithet of the moon, whose noun was later dropped.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010) Related words elsewhere are [[grc|λύχνος|tr=lúkhnos|t=lamp]], [[ae|raoxšna-|t=light]], [[prg|lauxnos|t=stars]] and [[ru|луна|tr=luná|t=moon]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Francis of Assisi, about 1224, for the Earth's only natural satellite.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Nocentini dates the word to the 10th century, and DELI notes the form ''lunis'' “Monday” in the 10th-century Monza glossary.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The phases were named early: ''luna nuova'' before 1292 in Bono Giamboni, ''luna piena'' in Dante's ''Convivio'' (1304–1308), and Dante also uses ''luna'' for the month the moon takes to go round the Earth.^(DELI 1999) Because the moon was thought to rule moods, the plural ''lune'' came to mean bad temper, as in ''avere la luna storta'';^(DEI|2284)^(DELI 1999) DEI derives [[de|Laune|t=mood]] from the same astrological sense.^(DEI|2284)^(DELI 1999) Other words of the family keep old beliefs: ''lunatico'' renders a Greek word for “moonstruck”, that is epileptic, and ''mal di luna'' is the popular name for epilepsy.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ''Luna di miele'' is the French ''lune de miel'', itself a translation of English ''honeymoon'' (1546), where ''moon'' means “month”; in an Italian version of a Walter Scott novel of 1831 the phrase still needed a gloss.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The ''luna park'' takes its name from an amusement park at Coney Island, New York, of about 1911.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) ''Far vedere la luna nel pozzo'' comes from the tale of the fox who makes the wolf believe that the moon reflected in a well is a cheese.^(DELI 1999) Alchemists called silver ''luna'', after the crescent that was its symbol.^(DEI|2284)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 10th century – Nocentini's date for the word.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * c. 1224 – Francis of Assisi uses ''luna''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1292 – ''Luna nuova'' “new moon” in Bono Giamboni.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses ''luna'' for a lunar month.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1580 – ''Lunario'', a table of the moon's phases, is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1803 – ''Luna di miele'' is first recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1858 – A figurative ''luna'', a dream world where the mind strays, appears in A. Guadagnoli.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1911 – ''Luna park'' appears in ''La Domenica del Corriere''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1959 – ''Allunare'' and ''allunaggio'' “moon landing” are formed on the model of ''atterrare''.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|moon]], the Earth's only natural [[m|en|satellite]], often written ''Luna'' in astronomy: ''Gli astronauti sono atterrati sulla Luna.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The face of the moon as it is seen from the Earth in its changing [[m|en|phase|alt=phases]]: ''Stanotte la luna è piena.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The natural satellite of another planet: ''le lune di Urano''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(literary)'' A [[m|en|lunar month]]: ''Erano passate tre lune.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative, usually plural)'' A bad mood, a fit of [[m|en|temper]]: ''Stamattina il capo ha la luna storta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(alchemy)'' [[m|en|silver]].^(Wiktionary)^(DEI|2284)

+ # One of the cards of the [[m|en|tarot]].^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[allunare]]

+ * [[lunario]]

+ * [[mezzaluna]]

+ * [[lunale]]

+ * [[lunare]]

+ * [[lunatico]]

+ * [[lunato]]

+ * [[lunazione]]

+ * [[lunedì]]

+ * [[lunetta]]

+ * [[sublunare]]

+ * [[lunotto]]

+ * [[lunula]]

+ * [[allunaggio]]

+ * [[illune]]

+ * [[stralunare]]

+ * [[stralunato]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lunaria]]

+ * [[luce]]

+ * [[lume]]

+ * [[la|luna]]

+ * [[fr|lune]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common set phrases are ''luna di miele'' (honeymoon), ''chiaro di luna'' (moonlight), ''con questi chiari di luna'' (in these hard times), ''abbaiare alla luna'' (to protest in vain), ''chiedere la luna'' (to ask for the impossible), ''vivere nel mondo della luna'' (to be out of touch with reality) and ''far vedere la luna nel pozzo'' (to deceive).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}