chiesa Italian · revision 38419

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1186, Fabriano document|origins=grc ἐκκαλέω}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈkjɛ.za/, /ˈkje.za/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''chiesa''' ''f'' (plural chiese)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|chiesia]], [[roa-oit|chesa]], [[roa-oit|clesia]], [[roa-oit|chiexa]] and [[roa-oit|cexa]].^(TLIO) Old Venetian had [[roa-oit|glixa]] (1321) and the Chioggia form [[roa-oit|glixia]] (1387).^(LEI|21, 80) The original double /kk/ survives in many regional varieties of Italian, and Old Pisan had [[roa-oit|ecchiesia]].^(Wiktionary)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|ecclēsia|t=assembly; church]], [[bor|grc|ἐκκλησία|tr=ekklēsía|t=assembly]], from [[m|grc|ἐκκαλέω|tr=ekkaléō|t=to call out, summon]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Greek word was the usual name of the assembly of citizens; in the Septuagint it renders the Hebrew name of the community of worship, the New Testament writers use it for the gathering of believers, and by metonymy it came to mean the building where they met.^(LEI|21, 80)^(GDLI)

+

+ The Romance forms point to a form [[la-lat|*eclēsia]] with a single /k/ and a close /e/, which Meyer-Lübke explains by the early medieval school pronunciation of Latin.^(REW 1935)^(Nocentini 2010) The Italian development is not wholly regular.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Nocentini derives [[roa-oit|chièsia]] from it, with the final ⟨-sia⟩ kept under the influence of the written Church Latin form, and then the modern form by dissimilation.^(Nocentini 2010) Sabatini–Coletti adds that the loss of the first vowel may be due to the northern dialects.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Devoto suggests a crossing with [[chiesto]], which would explain the open /ɛ/ and the absence of the palatal sound that a regular Tuscan outcome would have.^(Devoto 1968|91)

+

+ The word is found across Romance: [[fr|église]], [[oc|glieisa]], [[ca|església]], [[es|iglesia]], [[pt|igreja]], [[sc|cheja]] and [[fur|glesie]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Meyer-Lübke and the LEI date its victory over [[la|basilica]] to the 5th century in the main areas; the older word survives in Romanian and in the Ladin and central Alpine dialects.^(REW 1935)^(LEI|21, 80) It also passed into Albanian, [[cy|eglwys]] and Basque.^(REW 1935)^(DEI|898) The Germanic names, such as [[de|Kirche]] and [[en|church]], come instead from a Greek phrase meaning “(house) of the Lord”.^(DEI|898)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is a document from Fabriano of 1186.^(TLIO) DELI's first dates are in Brunetto Latini, before 1294, both for the community of those who share the Christian faith and for the building consecrated to worship.^(DELI 1999) The Latin form ''clesia'' is already found in a Paduan charter of 1026.^(Prati 1951|277)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already has most of the modern uses: the whole body of Christians, the Church of Rome led by the pope, the Church as a power in the struggle with the emperors, and phrases such as ''chiesa militante'' and ''chiesa trionfante'' for the faithful on earth and the blessed in heaven.^(TLIO) The sense “clergy, Church hierarchy” is in the 14th-century Bible translations.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Diminutives grew senses of their own: ''chiesuola'' is a small church from the late 14th century, and a ship's compass housing, compared to a little chapel with its dome, from the 15th century (''chiginola'', 1435–1445, ''chiesola'' 1540, ''chiesuola'' 1612).^(DELI 1999) In 1866 the Crusca records it for a clique.^(DELI 1999) The modern dictionaries give ''chiesa'' itself the figurative sense of a closed group sure that it alone holds the truth.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ The phrase ''essere tutto casa e chiesa'' describes a quiet, devout, family-centred life.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) The odd idiom ''chiamarsi chiesa'', “to keep out of it”, has been connected with the old right of asylum in churches, like Spanish ''llamarse iglesia''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1026 – Medieval Latin ''clesia'' appears in a Paduan charter.^(Prati 1951|277)

+ * 1186 – First Italian record, in a Fabriano document.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''chiesa'' for the Christian community and for the building.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – The Bible translations use it for the clergy.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1321 – ''Glixa'' is recorded in Venice.^(LEI|21, 80)

+ * 1435–1445 – ''Chiginola'', the compass housing, appears in portolans.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1866 – The Crusca records ''chiesuola'' for a clique.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(often capitalised)'' A Christian [[m|en|denomination]], the community of the faithful of one confession: ''la Chiesa valdese''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(capitalised)'' The Catholic Church, as a community and as an organized institution.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # The [[m|en|clergy]], the Church hierarchy.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # A territorial division governed by a bishop or parish priest.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # A [[m|en|church]], a building consecrated to Christian worship: ''Si sono sposati in una piccola chiesa di montagna.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A closed group of people with a dogmatic faith in a doctrine or school: ''Gli economisti si dividono in diverse chiese.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chiesastico]]

+ * [[chiesuola]]

+ * [[chiesetta]]

+ * [[chiesina]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ecclesiastico]]

+ * [[ecclesiale]]

+ * [[la|ecclesia]]

+ * [[fr|église]]

+ * [[es|iglesia]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The word is written with a capital for the institution and for a confession (''la Chiesa cattolica''), and with a small letter for the building.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) The ⟨s⟩ is voiced in the traditional pronunciation (/ˈkjɛza/), and Wiktionary also gives a variant with a close /e/.^(Wiktionary)^(Prati 1951|277)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}