arte Italian · revision 38544

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 12th century, Proverbia que dicuntur|origins=ine-pro *h₂er-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈar.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''arte''' ''f'' (plural arti)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|ars|t=skill, craft; art]], from the accusative “artem”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The word is found in all the Romance languages: [[fr|art]], [[oc|art]], [[ca|art]], [[es|arte]] and [[pt|arte]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|307)^(Körting 1907) The Romance languages kept the Latin senses “science, profession” and “skill, trickery”;^(LEI|3, 1413)^(DEI|307) Medieval Latin also used “ars” for a machine.^(LEI|3, 1413)^(DEI|307)

+

+ The Latin noun is an abstract from the root [[ine-pro|*h₂er-|t=to fit together, join]], through [[ine-pro|*h₂r̥tís]]: it named the ability learned by study and practice, as opposed to natural talent.^(Wiktionary)^(Nocentini 2010) The same root is behind [[la|arma|t=weapons]] and [[la|artus|t=joint, limb]], the sources of [[arma]] and [[arto]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the Venetian ''Proverbia que dicuntur'' of the late 12th century;^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) DELI's first date is Giacomo da Lentini (before 1250), and GRADIT's about 1274.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The early sense is a human activity governed by rules and based on study and experience, opposed to nature.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian ''arte'' meant skill or method of any kind, including magic (''arte magica'') and trickery, a trade, and the seven liberal arts of medieval schooling.^(TLIO)^(Prati 1951)^(Gabrielli 2020) From Dino Compagni (1310–1312) the word names the guilds of craftsmen and merchants, such as the ''Arte della Lana'' of Florence, which lasted until the French Revolution.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The sense of creative activity with an aesthetic value, the arts, is dated by DELI to Dante (1304–1308).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The family grew with it: ''artista'' first meant a craftsman (Dante, Medieval Latin ''artista'' in Salimbene, 1281–1288), and ''artigiano'' (15th century) took over that sense.^(DELI 1999)^(LEI|3, 1413) Italian ''artista'' spread to French, Spanish and Portuguese, and ''artigiano'' to French ''artisan'' (from 1546) and then to Iberia.^(LEI|3, 1413) ''Artistico'' is from 1835.^(DELI 1999) Phrases include ''a regola d'arte'' “to perfection”, ''ad arte'' “on purpose”, ''senz'arte né parte'' “with no skill and no means”, and the proverb ''impara l'arte e mettila da parte''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – ''Arte'' appears in the Venetian ''Proverbia que dicuntur''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses the word.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1281–1288 – Medieval Latin ''artista'' is recorded in Salimbene.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses ''arte'' for creative, aesthetic activity.^(DELI 1999)

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

+ * Before 1484 – ''Artigiano'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1835 – ''Artistico'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|skill]], [[m|en|craft]]: an activity based on study, experience and a set of rules, and those rules themselves: ''l'arte della navigazione''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A [[m|en|trade]] or profession: ''Ha imparato l'arte del falegname da suo nonno.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # [[m|en|art]]: creative activity whose works are valued for their beauty, and those works as a whole: ''Questo museo raccoglie l'arte del Novecento.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The [[m|en|performing arts]] of the actor or singer: ''arte drammatica''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Ability, talent, and also cunning or artifice: ''Ha l'arte di farsi ascoltare.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(history)'' A [[m|en|guild]] of craftsmen or merchants, from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[artista]]

+ * [[artistico]]

+ * [[artigiano]]

+ * [[artigianale]]

+ * [[artigianato]]

+ * [[artiere]]

+ * [[artefatto]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[artefice]]

+ * [[artificio]]

+ * [[artificiale]]

+ * [[artificioso]]

+ * [[arma]]

+ * [[arto]]

+ * [[la|ars]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Belle arti'' or ''arti figurative'' are painting, sculpture and architecture;^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) ''arti marziali'' are the martial arts.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) ''A regola d'arte'' means “perfectly done”, and ''ad arte'' “deliberately”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}