vacanza Italian · revision 38539

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=1522–1525, Niccolò Machiavelli|origins=la vacō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /vaˈkan.t͡sa/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vacanza''' ''f'' (plural vacanze)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|it|vacare|-anza]], or from [[vacante|t=vacant]], according to DELI, Nocentini, GRADIT and Devoto–Oli.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Others give it as [[la|vacantia|t=being free]], the neuter plural of [[m|la|vacāns]], the present participle of [[m|la|vacō|t=to be empty, to be free]], taken through [[fr|vacance]]: this is the view of Treccani, GDLI, Sabatini–Coletti and Wiktionary.^(Treccani 2011)^(GDLI)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) Latin “vacantia” itself is recorded only in the Middle Ages.^(Wiktionary) [[ro|vacanță]] was borrowed from the Italian word.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is Machiavelli (1522–1525), who uses the plural ''vacanzie'' for the vacancy of church benefices: the Church ordered that during ''le vacanze de' benefici'' a year's income be paid to the Camera;^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)^(Zingarelli 2010) Zingarelli dates the word earlier, before 1328.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)^(Zingarelli 2010) The first sense is the state of an office without a holder and the time it lasts.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense of a break from work, school or public business followed.^(DELI 1999) Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger uses the plural for the time when schools and academies are closed (1619) and for the summer holidays (1612); the general sense of a pause in ordinary work is in the Milanese press of 1802, though a definition in Florio's dictionary of 1598 may already show it.^(DELI 1999) Old variants were ''vacanzia'' and ''vacància''.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ The old sense survives for offices: ''la vacanza della Sede Apostolica'' is the time between the death of a pope and the election of the next.^(GDLI)^(Treccani 2011) In physics a ''vacanza'' is a vacancy in a crystal lattice.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Phrases include ''andare in vacanza'', ''villaggio vacanze'' “holiday village” and, jokingly, ''avere il cervello in vacanza'' “to be absent-minded”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1522–1525 – Machiavelli uses ''vacanzie'' for vacant benefices.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1598 – Florio defines a cessation from ordinary work.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1612 – Buonarroti the Younger uses ''vacanze'' for summer holidays.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1619 – He uses it for the closure of schools and academies.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1802 – The Milanese press uses it for a break from work.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|holiday]], a day or days off work or school: ''Lunedì è vacanza per la festa del patrono.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Often in the plural, a period of rest, especially the summer [[m|en|vacation]]: ''Quest'anno passeremo le vacanze in Sardegna.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # In the plural, the school holidays: ''le vacanze di Pasqua''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The [[m|en|vacancy]] of an office, and the time it lasts: ''la vacanza della sede vescovile''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(physics)'' A vacancy, a missing atom in a crystal lattice.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vacanziere]]

+ * [[vacanziero]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vacante]]

+ * [[vacare]]

+ * [[fr|vacance]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Ferie'' is the usual word for the paid leave of a worker, ''vacanze'' for the holiday itself.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) ''Fare vacanza'' means “to take a day off”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}