cellulare Italian · revision 38429

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1730, Antonio Vallisneri|origins=la cella}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /t͡ʃel.luˈla.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cellulare''' ''m'' (plural cellulari)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|it|cellula|-are]], the adjective of the word for a cell.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Wiktionary) Zingarelli derives it instead from [[fr|cellulaire]],^(Zingarelli 2010) which DEI dates to 1751.^(DEI|846) Italian “cellula” is a learned word from [[la-lat|cellula|t=small room]], a diminutive of [[la|cella|t=small room; storeroom]];^(LEI|13, 784)^(Nocentini 2010) Nocentini takes the Latin noun from [[m|la|cēlō|t=to hide]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The noun senses are later and come from phrases.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The police van, first “vettura cellulare”, is modelled on [[fr|voiture cellulaire]], recorded in French from 1845, a carriage divided into small compartments so that the prisoners cannot talk to one another.^(LEI|13, 784)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The telephone, first “telefono cellulare”, is a calque of [[en|cellular phone]] (1987), named after the “cells” into which the territory served by the network is divided.^(LEI|13, 784)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Antonio Vallisneri, who died in 1730, wrote ''cellolare'' for “made of cells” in his medical and scientific works, printed in Venice in 1733; the form ''cellulare'' is recorded in 1745 by Bergantini.^(DELI 1999)^(LEI|13, 784)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 18th and 19th centuries the adjective belonged to anatomy and biology: Tommaseo's dictionary has ''tessuto cellulare'' for connective tissue and quotes Antonio Cocchi on “cellular” cavities of the body.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The sense “divided into cells” is recorded from 1857 in Gerolamo Boccardo, and in 1875 Lessona defines the ''sistema cellulare'' of prisons, in which every prisoner is shut in a separate cell, and the ''vettura cellulare'' that carries them.^(DELI 1999)^(LEI|13, 784) As a noun ''cellulare'' meant the prison itself from Verga (1884) to Panzini (1950), and the van from 1931.^(LEI|13, 784)^(DELI 1999)

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+ The telephone sense arrived at the end of the 20th century;^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GDLI) Sabatini–Coletti date the noun to 1990, and the GDLI supplement quotes Dacia Maraini for a woman who takes ''un cellulare piccolo e nero'' out of her bag.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GDLI) Other technical uses name ship hulls built in compartments, plastics with a structure full of cavities, and an open-mesh cotton fabric for summer shirts.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1730 – Antonio Vallisneri uses ''cellolare'' “made of cells”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1745 – The form ''cellulare'' is recorded by Bergantini.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1857 – Gerolamo Boccardo uses it for “divided into cells”.^(DELI 1999)^(LEI|13, 784)

+ * 1875 – Lessona defines the ''sistema cellulare'' and the ''vettura cellulare'' for prisoners.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1884 – Verga uses ''cellulare'' as a noun for the cell prison.^(LEI|13, 784)

+ * 1931 – Panzini's dictionary has the noun for the prison van.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1990 – The noun is used for the mobile telephone.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|mobile phone]], in full ''telefono cellulare'': ''Ti chiamo sul cellulare appena arrivo in stazione.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|police van]] with separate compartments for carrying prisoners or people under arrest.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(textiles)'' An open-mesh fabric used for summer shirts and underwear.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(dated)'' A prison in which each inmate is kept alone in a [[cella|alt=cell]].^(Treccani 2011)^(LEI|13, 784)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(biology)'' Of the [[cellula|alt=cell]]; made up of cells: ''la membrana cellulare''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Divided into compartments or cells; with hollow spaces between solid parts, as a ship's double bottom.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(telecommunications)'' Of a radio network divided into cells, each with its own transmitter.^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[extracellulare]]

+ * [[intracellulare]]

+ * [[intercellulare]]

+ * [[subcellulare]]

+ * [[acellulare]]

+ * [[cellularità]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cellula]]

+ * [[cella]]

+ * [[telefonino]]

+ * [[fr|cellulaire]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In speech the telephone is also ''telefonino''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) ''Carcere cellulare'' and ''furgone cellulare'' are the full phrases behind the prison and the van.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}