soluzione Italian · revision 38714

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1348, Giovanni Villani|origins=la solvō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /so.lutˈt͡sjo.ne/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''soluzione''' ''f'' (plural soluzioni)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|solūtiō|t=a loosening; payment]], a learned word.^(GDLI)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The Latin noun was formed from [[m|la|solūtus]], the past participle of [[m|la|solvō|t=to loosen, release; to pay]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Devoto 1968)^(OLD 2012) De Vaan explains the verb as a compound of [[m|la|sē-|t=away]] and [[m|la|-luō|t=to loosen]].^(de Vaan 2008) DEI compares [[fro|solucion]] of the 12th century, modern [[fr|solution]].^(DEI|3538)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Giovanni Villani's chronicle, before 1348, for the answer to a question: “the solution of our question is very clear”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)^(GRADIT 2003) DEI also dates to the 14th century a medical use, ''soluzione di ventre'' “diarrhoea”, and the general sense “a loosening, dissolving”.^(DEI|3538)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The scholastic sense of answering a question or refuting an objection is common in the 14th century: Boccaccio, commenting on Dante, writes of the poet raising a doubt with Virgil and of its ''soluzion''.^(GDLI) The mathematical sense, the result of a problem, appears with Niccolò Tartaglia in 1546, and the chemical one, a substance dissolved in a liquid, with Ferrante Imperato in 1599.^(DELI 1999) DEI dates the chemical definition as a mixture of a solid, liquid or gas in a liquid to the Italian Chambers of 1769.^(DEI|3538)

+

+ Giambattista Giraldi Cinzio used the word for the unravelling of a dramatic plot before 1573, and the general sense “settlement of a complication” is recorded from 1891.^(DELI 1999) The sense “payment of a debt” is in a document of 1549, though dictionaries record it only in 1950.^(DELI 1999) In the 20th century the Nazi euphemism for the genocide of the Jews was rendered ''soluzione finale''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses ''soluzione'' for the answer to a question.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1546 – Niccolò Tartaglia uses it for the solution of a mathematical problem.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1549 – A document uses it for the payment of a debt.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1573 – Giraldi Cinzio uses it for the resolution of a plot.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1599 – Ferrante Imperato uses it in chemistry.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1769 – The Italian Chambers defines the chemical solution.^(DEI|3538)

+ * 1891 – The general sense “settling of a complication” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(chemistry)'' The [[m|en|dissolving]] of one substance in another, usually a liquid.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) A homogeneous mixture of a solvent and one or more dissolved substances: ''una soluzione di acqua e bicarbonato''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The [[m|en|solution]] of a question, problem or difficulty, and the answer itself: ''Abbiamo cercato a lungo la soluzione dell'indovinello.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A value of the unknown that satisfies an equation or system of equations.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A way out, a [[m|en|remedy]]; a technical or design solution: ''Per il traffico in centro non vedo altra soluzione.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The [[m|en|settlement]] of a dispute.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(commerce)'' [[m|en|payment]] of a sum: ''pagare in un'unica soluzione'', to pay in a single instalment.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''Senza soluzione di continuità'': without a break, continuously.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[soluzionare]]

+ * [[soluzionista]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[risolvere]]

+ * [[solubile]]

+ * [[soluto]]

+ * [[solutore]]

+ * [[solvente]]

+ * [[solvere]]

+ * [[la|solūtiō]]

+ * [[fr|solution]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ GDLI records a separate obsolete ''soluzione'' “absolution of sins”, a clipped form of [[assoluzione]].^(GDLI|19, 362)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}