volo Italian · revision 38362

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1300–1313, Dante|origins=la volō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈvo.lo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''volo''' ''m'' (plural voli)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a deverbal noun of [[volare|t=to fly]], formed in Italian.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GDLI)^(Wiktionary) The verb continues [[la|volō|t=to fly]], and GRADIT sets up a noun [[la|*volus]] behind “volo”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) [[fr|vol]], which means both “flight” and “theft”, and [[es|vuelo]] were formed separately in the same way, from [[m|fr|voler]] and [[m|es|volar]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record of the noun for the flight of birds is in Boccaccio's ''Elegia di Madonna Fiammetta'' (1340–1342), but Dante had already used it in a simile between 1300 and 1313.^(DELI 1999) Fiammetta says that whenever she saw a fine flight of birds or a notable course, it came to her lips to wish her lover there: ''Come alcuno bello volo, o notabile corso vedeva''.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the 17th century the word had a figurative sense, a bold or brilliant leap of the mind, recorded before 1638 in Gabriello Chiabrera.^(DELI 1999) Tommaseo records the ''volo d'Icaro'', said of someone who rises too high and falls.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ Aviation gave it a new life: a Milanese newspaper used it for the flight of a machine in 1803, Mele Dander for the path of a thrown body in 1919, and in 1929 Marinetti and Azari's ''Primo dizionario aereo italiano'' listed dozens of kinds of flight, from ''volo di ricognizione'' to ''volo rovesciato''.^(DELI 1999) The sense “flock”, as in ''un volo di storni'', is recorded from 1961.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The modern sense “air journey” and phrases such as ''al volo'', “on the wing” and figuratively “at once”, and ''a volo d'uccello'', “from above; at a glance”, are among the commonest uses.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) From ''volo a vela'', gliding, come ''volovelista'' (1942) and ''volovelismo'' (1955).^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses ''volo'' in a simile.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1340–1342 – Boccaccio writes of the flight of birds in the ''Fiammetta''.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+ * Before 1638 – Chiabrera uses it for a flight of the mind.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1803 – A Milanese paper uses it for a flying machine.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1929 – Marinetti and Azari's aviation dictionary lists the kinds of flight.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1942 – ''Volovelista'' “glider pilot” is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1961 – The sense “flock” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|flight]], flying: the ability of birds, insects and bats to move through the air on wings, and the act of doing so: ''il volo radente delle rondini''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(aviation)'' The movement of an aircraft or spacecraft through the air or space: ''volo spaziale''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A flight, a journey by air: ''Il volo per Napoli parte alle sette.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A [[m|en|flock]] of birds, or a formation of aircraft.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(hunting)'' A decoy bird whose flight draws others towards the hunter.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The path of a body thrown or falling through the air; a fall, a tumble: ''Ha fatto un volo dalla bicicletta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A quick dash somewhere: ''faccio un volo in farmacia''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A free flight of the mind: ''i voli della sua fantasia''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[volovelismo]]

+ * [[volovelista]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[volare]]

+ * [[fr|vol]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Al volo'' means “in flight” and also “immediately”, as in ''capire al volo'', to catch on at once;^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) ''prendere il volo'' is to take wing and, figuratively, to vanish.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) Two rare words share the spelling: an old ''volo'' “will, whim”, a deverbal of [[volere]] used by Bonagiunta Orbicciani,^(GDLI|21, 995) and a ''volo'' “theft” taken from French ''vol'', recorded by Tramater (1829) and Panzini (1931).^(DEI|4084)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}