isola Italian · revision 38488

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 13th century, Novellino|origins=la īnsula}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈi.zo.la/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''isola''' ''f'' (plural isole, diminutive isolétta or isolìna, diminutive-augmentative isolòtto m)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*isula]], from [[la|insula|alt=īnsula|t=island]]: the Vulgar Latin form had lost the /n/ before /s/, as [[mese]] did from [[m|la|mensis|alt=mēnsis]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(Prati 1951) The form [[la-med|isula]] already appears in documents from Lucca of 755 and 800.^(DELI 1999)^(Prati 1951)^(DEI|2116) DEI and Sabatini–Coletti call the word semi-learned, beside the popular outcome [[ischia]], a reed bed or riverside thicket in northern Italy.^(DEI|2116)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999) The same Latin word is [[fr|île]], [[oc|iscla]], [[ca|illa]], [[es|isla]] and [[pt|ilha]], and in the south it survives as [[scn|isca|t=irrigated land]] in Sicily and [[sc|isa|t=marsh at the foot of a hill]] in Logudoro.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907) The Latin word also meant “block of houses”, a sense Portuguese has kept.^(DELI 1999)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The origin of the Latin word is uncertain.^(DELI 1999)^(de Vaan 2008) The ancients explained it as land “in the open sea”, [[m|la|in]] [[m|la|salum|alt=salō]], and Nocentini still accepts this while waiting for a better proposal.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan finds it possible in its sounds but vague in meaning, since early Indo-Europeans seem to have meant river islands, and thinks the word may be a loan from an unknown language, which might also be the source of [[grc|νῆσος|tr=nêsos|t=island]] and of [[sga|inis]] and [[cy|ynys]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in the ''Novellino'' at the end of the 13th century: “there was a young king, on an island of the sea, of very great strength and power” (''Fue uno giovane Re, in una isola di mare, di grandissima forza e di gran podere'').^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) GRADIT dates the word to the second half of the 13th century.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the 14th century the word also stood for the people of an island, in the Bible translations and in Boccaccio, who tells how King Peter of Aragon made the island of Sicily rebel.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The Latin sense “block of buildings” returned in 1618 in Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger;^(DELI 1999) Vincenzo Scamozzi had noted that the ancients called both groups of houses and single detached houses ''isole''.^(DELI 1999) The usual word for a city block became ''isolato'' (before 1600).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Modern senses came with traffic and planning: the raised traffic island in 1942, the ''isola pedonale'' “pedestrian zone” in 1961, and ''isola rotazionale'' “roundabout island” in 1973, replacing ''isola rotatoria''.^(DELI 1999) A territory set apart from its surroundings, such as a linguistic island, is first recorded in Corrado Alvaro in 1957.^(DELI 1999) ''Le Isole'' are, in Italy, Sicily and Sardinia.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) Anatomy has the ''isole di Langerhans'' of the pancreas.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ The verb [[isolare]] (before 1597) and its derivatives took several senses from French, while ''isolazionismo'' (1939) comes from American English ''isolationism''.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) ''Isola'' is also the name of many places in Italy and a surname.^(Prati 1951)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 755 – Medieval Latin ''Isula'' appears in a document from Lucca.^(DELI 1999)^(Prati 1951)

+ * Late 13th century – The ''Novellino'' uses ''isola''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – The word is used for the inhabitants of an island.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1597 – ''Isolare'' is recorded in Giovanni Vettorio Soderini.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1618 – Buonarroti the Younger uses ''isola'' for a block of buildings.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1939 – ''Isolazionismo'' and ''isolazionista'' are recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1942 – The sense “traffic island” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1957 – Corrado Alvaro uses ''isola'' for a territory set apart.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1961 – ''Isola pedonale'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|island]]: a piece of land surrounded on every side by the water of a sea, lake or river: ''D'estate prendiamo il traghetto per un'isola vicina alla costa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The inhabitants of an island: ''Tutta l'isola festeggiò il ritorno del campione.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # An area that stands out from its surroundings by its language, people or other features: ''isola linguistica'', ''isola dialettale''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A secluded, peaceful place or situation; an [[m|en|oasis]]: ''Il giardino della nonna era per noi un'isola di silenzio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(uncommon)'' A building or group of buildings surrounded by streets; a [[m|en|block]]: in this sense ''isolato'' is more usual.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(roads)'' A raised area in a roadway closed to vehicles, or a zone closed to traffic: ''isola spartitraffico'', ''isola pedonale''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(anatomy, biology)'' A clearly bounded part of an organ, or a small cluster of cells unlike the tissue around it.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(nautical)'' Each of the separate superstructures of a merchant ship; on a warship or aircraft carrier, the side superstructure with the bridge.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[isolamento]]

+ * [[isolano]]

+ * [[isolante]]

+ * [[isolare]]

+ * [[isolatore]]

+ * [[isolazionismo]]

+ * [[isolazionista]]

+ * [[insulare]]

+ * [[isolato]]

+ * [[isolotto]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ischia]]

+ * [[la|insula]]

+ * [[fr|île]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Isola'' is said with a voiced /z/ in standard pronunciation; a voiceless /s/ is also heard.^(DiPI)^(Prati 1951) ''Isola felice'' is a place or situation with very good features in the middle of a bad one.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}