rotto Italian · revision 38435

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1294, Guittone d'Arezzo|origins=ine-pro *Hreup-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈrot.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''rotto''' (feminine rotta, masculine plural rotti, feminine plural rotte)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old and dialect forms include [[roa-oit|roto]], [[roa-oit|ropto]], [[roa-oit|ruptu]] and [[roa-oit|ruttu]].^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|ruptus|t=broken, burst]], the past participle of [[m|la|rumpō|t=to break, to burst]], and it serves as the past participle of [[rompere]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) The same participle gave the noun [[rotta]].^(DELI 1999) The verb is panromance: [[fr|rompre]], [[es|romper]], [[pt|romper]] and [[ro|rupe]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3289)

+

+ De Vaan traces the Latin verb to a nasal present [[ine-pro|*Hru-n-p-|t=to break]], beside an aorist [[m|ine-pro|*Hreup-]], with cognates in Sanskrit and in [[ang|rēofan|t=to break, to tear]].^(de Vaan 2008) Nocentini compares [[goh|roufen|t=to pluck]] and [[m|goh|roubōn|t=to rob]], the source of [[roba]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record of the participle and adjective is in Guittone d'Arezzo, who died in 1294, in the sense “broken, smashed”: tame birds, he writes, have their feathers “rotto e disviate” (broken and ruffled).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the adjective to the 14th century.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the early 14th century the adjective also meant bruised and battered (Iacopone da Todi), and Dante used it for someone hardened or used to something, often in a bad sense.^(DELI 1999) Dante's ''sasso rotto'' is a cleft in the rock, and the noun ''rotto'', a break or tear, is in Boccaccio's ''Decameron'', where a hand is put “per lo rotto dell'asse” (through the break in the plank).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ''Passare per il rotto della cuffia'' (to get through the tear in the bonnet), to get away with something by a whisker, goes back to the 15th-century ''Pataffio'' (''uscire pel rotto della cuffia'').^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The plural ''rotti'', the odd amount above a round figure, is recorded in 1863.^(DELI 1999) Modern use adds a machine that does not work and a player injured in a match.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses ''rotto'' for “broken”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses it for “bruised, battered”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses it for “used to, hardened”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses the noun ''rotto'', a break.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 15th century – ''Uscire pel rotto della cuffia'' appears in the ''Pataffio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1863 – ''Rotti'' for the odd amount above a round sum is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|broken]], in pieces, smashed or cracked: ''un piatto rotto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Of a bone, [[m|en|fractured]]: ''Ha una gamba rotta e non può camminare.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Of clothes and shoes, torn, full of holes: ''Ha sempre i jeans rotti sulle ginocchia.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Of a machine or device, out of order: ''La lavastoviglie è rotta da una settimana.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Aching and worn out, ''(sport)'' injured: ''Dopo il trasloco mi sento tutto rotto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Of the voice, broken by emotion; interrupted: ''Ha risposto con la voce rotta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Of a relationship or a situation, broken off.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # Hardened, used to something through long experience (with ''a''): ''un uomo rotto alla fatica''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(rare)'' A break, a tear: ''un rotto nella manica''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(plural)'' The odd amount above a round figure: ''Costa trenta euro e rotti.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rottame]]

+ * [[rottamente]]

+ * [[rottezza]]

+ * [[rottume]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rompere]]

+ * [[rotta]]

+ * [[rottura]]

+ * [[la|ruptus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Per il rotto della cuffia'' (by the skin of one's teeth) is a fixed phrase: ''passare'', ''farcela'' or ''cavarsela per il rotto della cuffia''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}