segnale Italian · revision 38300

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 13th century, Novellino|origins=ine-pro *sek-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /seɲˈɲa.le/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''segnale''' ''m'' (plural segnali)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include ''segnae'', ''segnalle'', ''sengnale'', ''signale'' and ''seignal''.^(GDLI|18, 464) A Gallo-Italian ''seignal'' appears as early as the 12th century, in the Sermoni subalpini.^(DEI|3442)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|signāle]], the neuter of the adjective [[m|la-lat|signālis|t=serving as a sign]] used as a noun, from [[la|signum|t=mark, sign]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The same Late Latin noun gave [[fro|seignal]] (modern [[fr|signal]]), [[oc|senhal]], [[ca|senyal]], [[es|señal]] and [[pt|sinal]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Meyer-Lübke noted that the word is feminine in Spanish.^(REW 1935)

+

+ The Latin noun goes back to [[itc-pro|*sekno-|t=statue, sign]], which also gave Oscan words for a statue.^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan takes it from [[ine-pro|*sek-|t=to cut]], the root of [[la|secō|t=to cut]]: the noun first meant something cut or carved out, and so a mark.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Wiktionary also mentions a root meaning “to follow” as an alternative.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in the ''Novellino'', at the end of the 13th century, where Tristan and Iseult agree on a secret sign: Tristan muddies the stream that runs from the king's fountain when he wants to speak to her.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|18, 464) The sense is a sign agreed between people to pass on news or a warning.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 14th century the word also meant a portent (in the vernacular Bible), a banner or emblem (Antonio Pucci), and a sign of the zodiac, and in Boccaccio a sample of urine taken for examination.^(DEI|3442)^(Prati 1951|905) Boccaccio also uses it for a distinguishing mark on the body, a mole under the left breast in the ''Decameron''.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ With railways, roads and telecommunications the word came to name the devices that give such signs (railway signals, road signs) and, in electronics, the varying voltage or current that carries information.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) The sense “clue, symptom” is common in modern Italian, as in talk of signs of economic recovery.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Derivatives followed: ''segnalare'' in the mid-16th century, ''segnalazione'' in 1853 and ''segnaletica'', road signs as a whole, in 1942.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 12th century – Gallo-Italian ''seignal'' is recorded in the Sermoni subalpini.^(DEI|3442)

+ * Late 13th century – ''Segnale'' appears in the ''Novellino''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 14th century – Boccaccio uses the word for a mark on the body.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(DEI|3442)

+ * Mid-16th century – The verb ''segnalare'' is first recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1853 – ''Segnalazione'' is first recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1901 – ''Segnaletico'' is taken from French ''signalétique''.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1942 – ''Segnaletica'' “road signs” is first recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A visual or [[m|en|acoustic]] sign, usually agreed in advance, that passes on news, a message or an [[m|en|order]]: ''Al segnale del capitano, tutti si alzarono.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A device that gives such signs, such as an alarm.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # A road [[m|en|sign]] (''segnale stradale'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A railway signal, a [[semaforo]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A sign or [[m|en|clue]] from which something can be inferred: ''Non vedo segnali di miglioramento.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(electronics)'' A voltage, current or other physical quantity that varies in time and carries [[m|en|information]], as in ''segnale audio'' and ''segnale video''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A bookmark, a [[segnalibro]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[segnalare]]

+ * [[segnalazione]]

+ * [[segnalamento]]

+ * [[segnalatore]]

+ * [[segnaletica]]

+ * [[segnaletico]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[segno]]

+ * [[segnalibro]]

+ * [[la|signum]]

+ * [[fr|signal]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Set phrases include ''segnale orario'', the time signal on radio and television, ''segnale d'allarme'', the emergency brake handle on trains, and ''segnale di fumo'', a smoke signal.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003) The GDLI also records a rare dialect ''segnale'' “wild boar”, a central and southern variant of ''cignale'' (''cinghiale''), in a 15th-century poem by Prudenzani.^(GDLI|18, 468)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}