calma Italian · revision 38425

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=1342, Pavian paraphrase of the Neminem laedi|origins=grc καῦμα}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈkal.ma/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''calma''' ''f'' (plural calme)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|cauma|t=great heat]], from [[grc|καῦμα|tr=kaûma|t=burning heat, heat of the sun]], a derivative of [[m|grc|καίω|tr=kaíō|t=to burn]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The Late Latin word is used by Christian writers from the 4th century, Jerome and the Vulgate among them.^(LEI|13, 363) The change of sense from heat to calm happened among seamen: the hottest hours are those without wind, when the sea lies still.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ The /l/ in place of /u/ is explained by Nocentini and the LEI, following Rohlfs, as a hypercorrection, the reverse of the common Romance change of /l/ to /u/ before a consonant.^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|13, 363) Körting and Wiktionary think instead of the influence of [[la|calor|t=heat]] and related words, but DEI finds no evidence for a [[la-vul|*calma]].^(Körting 1907)^(Wiktionary)^(DEI|689) DEI also holds that the noun was drawn from the verb [[calmare]], which must come from a region that kept the diphthong /au/, probably Provence, with Marseille as the centre from which this Greek word spread.^(DEI|689)^(Devoto 1968) Wiktionary calls the origin uncertain and compares [[gem-pro|*kalmaz|t=frost, cold]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The older sense survives in [[pro|cauma|t=great heat]] (1327), Sursilvan [[m|rm|cauma|t=shady resting place for cattle]] and Logudorese [[m|sc|kama|t=heat]], and [[fr|chômer|t=to rest, stop work]] comes from the related Late Latin verb.^(LEI|13, 363)^(REW 1935) French [[m|fr|calme]], [[es|calma]] and [[pt|calma]] are usually taken as loans from Italian.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|689) The LEI, though, records Spanish “calma” about 1330 and Portuguese in the 14th century, earlier than the Italian sea sense.^(LEI|13, 363)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is a Pavian paraphrase of the ''Neminem laedi'' of 1342, where ''calma'' means the blazing heat of midday.^(TLIO)^(LEI|13, 363) The sense of a sea not ruffled by wind appears in Genoa in 1435 as ''carma'', and as ''calma'' in Masuccio Salernitano, before 1476.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb is older than the noun in the sense of quiet: Guittone d'Arezzo uses ''calmare'' “to soothe” before 1294, Fazio degli Uberti the reflexive before 1367, and Filippo Sassetti in 1582 the wind that drops.^(DELI 1999) Ariosto describes a soft sky and ''’l mare in calma'' (“the sea in calm”).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Gabrielli 2020)

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+ The figurative sense of serenity of mind is first recorded in Carlo Innocenzo Frugoni, before 1686.^(DELI 1999) The adjective [[calmo]], a shortened participle, appears in Luigi Tansillo before 1568; 19th-century purists objected to it.^(DELI 1999) ''Calmante'' “sedative” is recorded in 1830.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) German ''Kalme'' “calm at sea”, recorded from 1521, came through French from Italian.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1342 – A Pavian text uses ''calma'' for the heat of midday.^(TLIO)

+ * 1435 – ''Carma'' “calm sea” is recorded at Genoa.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1476 – Masuccio Salernitano writes ''calma''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1521 – German ''Kalme'' is first recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * Before 1568 – Luigi Tansillo uses the adjective ''calmo''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1686 – Carlo Innocenzo Frugoni uses ''calma'' for peace of mind.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1830 – ''Calmante'' is recorded as a noun for a sedative.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(meteorology)'' The state of the sea or the air when there is no wind; a [[m|en|calm]]: ''Dopo la burrasca il mare tornò in calma.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Quiet, peace of a place or time: ''la calma delle sere d'estate''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # [[m|en|composure]], self-control, serenity of mind; as an exclamation, “calm down!”: ''Calma, ragazzi, uno alla volta!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Slowness, lack of haste: ''fare le cose con calma''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[calmare]]

+ * [[calmo]]

+ * [[calmante]]

+ * [[scalmana]]

+ * [[scalmanarsi]]

+ * [[scalmanato]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[calore]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Calma e gesso!'', an invitation to think before acting, comes from billiards players chalking the cue before a shot.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) DEI lists two dialect homographs: ''calma'' “stubble” in the south, from a regional Latin word taken from Greek, and ''calma'' “uncultivated land” in Piedmont, from a pre-Latin word for rock.^(DEI|689)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}