urlare Italian · revision 38447

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1294, Guittone d'Arezzo|origins=la ululō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /urˈla.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''urlare''' (first-person singular present ùrlo, first-person singular past historic urlài, past participle urlàto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also had the shortened infinitive ''urlar'', and the TLIO lists a form ''urulanu''.^(TLIO)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|ululō|alt=ululāre|t=to howl]], through a Vulgar Latin [[m|la-vul|*urulō|alt=*urulāre]] in which the first ⟨l⟩ became ⟨r⟩ by dissimilation.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(TLIO) The unstressed vowel then dropped, as Devoto explains.^(Devoto 1968) The dissimilated form survives in [[sc|urulare]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Theodor Braune proposed a link with Germanic words in 1894, but Meyer-Lübke rejected it and accounted for the Romance variants of the Latin verb.^(DELI 1999)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ The other Romance outcomes are [[fr|hurler]], [[ro|urla]], [[fur|urlâ]] and [[ca|udolar]], the last from a form with ⟨d⟩.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|3960) Meyer-Lübke explains the Romance ⟨u-⟩ in place of the Latin ⟨ŭ-⟩ by the imitation of the sound.^(REW 1935) The Latin verb is itself imitative, of a sound like ⟨u⟩; de Vaan holds that an older [[ine-pro|*ul-]] or [[ine-pro|*ulul-]] cannot be proven.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Italian also has [[ululare]], the learned form of the same Latin verb.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the letters of Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294.^(TLIO) In Old Italian the verb was still above all the cry of the wolf or the dog: commenting on Dante, Boccaccio wrote “''Urlar'': this is proper to wolves, although dogs also often howl.”^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante used it of the damned, whom the rain makes “howl like dogs” (''Urlar li fa la pioggia come cani''), and DELI dates the human sense, “to scream”, to the ''Commedia'' of 1300–1313.^(GDLI)^(DELI 1999) In the 16th century Varchi still held that the verb belonged to wolves rather than to people.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Old Italian also used the infinitive as a noun, “howling”, and of other animals' cries.^(TLIO)

+

+ The sense “to raise one's voice in an argument or a rebuke” and the transitive use “to shout (something)” are recorded in Tommaseo–Bellini in 1879.^(DELI 1999) Modern Italian also uses the verb of sirens and other loud sounds and of singing at the top of one's voice.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The derivative ''urlatore'' named in 1959 a pop singer who sang at full voice.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses ''urlare''.^(TLIO)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses it of people screaming.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1362–1364 – Boccaccio uses the noun ''urlo'' for an animal's howl.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1375 – Boccaccio explains ''urlar'' as the cry of wolves.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1879 – Tommaseo–Bellini records it for shouting in an argument.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1959 – ''Urlatore'' is recorded for a pop singer.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To [[m|en|scream]], to [[m|en|yell]], to give loud prolonged cries: ''Il bambino urlava di paura.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To speak too loudly or angrily, to [[m|en|shout]]: ''Abbassa la voce, non c'è motivo di urlare.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' Of wolves and dogs, to [[m|en|howl]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(intransitive, figurative)'' Of a siren or alarm, to make a loud piercing sound.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To shout (words), or to sing (a song) at the top of one's voice: ''Gli urlò il numero dalla finestra.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[urlo]]

+ * [[urlatore]]

+ * [[urlio]]

+ * [[urlata]]

+ * [[urlone]]

+ * [[urlante]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ululare]]

+ * [[fr|hurler]]

+ * [[la|ululo]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}