lettera Italian · revision 38433

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1207–1208, Venetian pact of Aleppo|origins=la littera}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈlet.te.ra/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Traditional: /ˈlɛt.te.ra/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lettera''' ''f'' (plural lettere)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|littera]] and [[roa-oit|lettra]], the latter in Petrarch,^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Prati 1951|588) and old texts spell it [[m|roa-oit|letera]], [[m|roa-oit|lèttara]] and in many other ways.^(TLIO)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|littera|t=letter of the alphabet]], whose plural [[m|la|litterae]] meant “an epistle”, “literature” and “culture”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Under the influence of [[grc|γράμμα|tr=grámma]] and its plural [[m|grc|γράμματα|tr=grámmata]] the Latin word took on all their senses.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2211) The word is Romance everywhere except Romanian: [[fr|lettre]], [[oc|letra]], [[ca|lletra]], [[es|letra]], [[pt|letra]] and [[sc|littera]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|2211) In Romance the singular also took the sense “epistle” of the Latin plural; southern Italian dialects even have a singular with the plural ending ⟨-e⟩, and in Old French a single letter could be named with the plural.^(REW 1935) [[cy|llythyr]] was borrowed from the Latin word.^(REW 1935)^(DEI|2211)

+

+ The origin of the Latin word is uncertain.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) DELI suggests a Greek origin, perhaps through Etruscan, and Nocentini derives it from [[grc|διφθέρα|tr=diphthéra|t=prepared hide, parchment]], a proposal Ernout and Meillet made with a query and Peruzzi supported: the Romans imported hides to write on, and the Greek word was adapted with ⟨l-⟩ for ⟨d-⟩, as in [[la|lacrima]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) Walde and Hofmann derived it from a form related to [[la|linō|t=to smear]], as a “smeared sign”, which de Vaan finds morphologically unconvincing.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Learned derivatives came later from Latin: [[letterato]], [[letterale]], [[letteratura]] and [[letterario]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in the Venetian pact of Aleppo of 1207–1208.^(TLIO)^(Nocentini 2010) DELI dates the sense “written message” to 1219, in the Tuscan ''Breve di Montieri'', and the letter of the alphabet to Brunetto Latini, who died in 1294.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 13th and 14th centuries the plural ''lettere'' already meant learning and literature (Brunetto Latini), and the singular could mean doctrine (Giordano da Pisa, 1305).^(DELI 1999) ''Per lettera'' meant “in Latin”, the language of written culture.^(DEI|2211)^(TLIO)^(Prati 1951|588) Dante used ''lettera'' for the literal sense of a text (1304–1308) and for the shape and size of letters, and Dino Compagni for a legal document (1310–1312).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ In printing ''lettera'' is a piece of type (1547), and on medals and prints it is the inscription (Cellini, before 1571).^(DELI 1999) The ''lettera di cambio'' was a bill of exchange,^(Prati 1951|588) and on the stock exchange ''lettera'' is still the offer price, the opposite of ''denaro''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary) ''Dire a lettere di scatola'', to say plainly, comes from the large letters that apothecaries painted on their jars, as Florio explained in 1598.^(DELI 1999)^(Prati 1951|588)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1207–1208 – The Venetian pact of Aleppo has the first record.^(TLIO)

+ * 1219 – The ''Breve di Montieri'' uses ''lettera'' for a written message.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for a letter of the alphabet and, in the plural, for learning.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for the literal sense of a text.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni uses it for a legal document.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1547 – Claudio Tolomei uses it for printing type.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1598 – Florio explains ''lettere di scatola''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|letter]] of the alphabet: ''Il suo cognome comincia con la lettera B.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A letter used as a symbol for a quantity or a variable.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(printing)'' A piece of [[m|en|type]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # An inscription on a coin, a medal or under a print.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The literal sense of a text, as opposed to its spirit: ''Ha seguito la lettera del contratto, non il suo spirito.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A letter, a written message sent to someone: ''Ho ricevuto una lettera da mia sorella.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(plural)'' [[m|en|literature]] and the humanities, as a subject of study: ''Si è laureata in lettere.''^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(finance)'' On the stock exchange, the offer of securities for sale and the price asked.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[letterina]]

+ * [[letterona]]

+ * [[letteraggine]]

+ * [[portalettere]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[letterale]]

+ * [[letterario]]

+ * [[letteratura]]

+ * [[letteralmente]]

+ * [[letterato]]

+ * [[allitterazione]]

+ * [[traslitterare]]

+ * [[la|littera]]

+ * [[fr|lettre]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Set phrases include ''alla lettera'' (literally, word for word), ''a chiare lettere'' (plainly) and ''a lettere cubitali'' (in huge letters).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) The stressed vowel is now usually open, /ɛ/;^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) Wiktionary gives a closed /e/ as the main form and the open one as traditional, while Devoto–Oli calls the closed vowel historical.^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}