stile Italian · revision 38754

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1313, Dante|origins=la stilus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈsti.le/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''stile''' ''m'' (plural stili)^(Wiktionary)

+ The older form [[stilo]] was also used for “style” and is now archaic in this sense.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) GDLI also records old ''stelo'' and ''stillo''.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|stilus|t=stylus for writing]], in the figurative sense “manner of writing”;^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Nocentini and GRADIT treat it as a variant of [[stilo]] specialised in that sense.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) In Latin the word was a pointed instrument, in particular the iron or bone stylus used on wax tablets;^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)^(Nocentini 2010) Cicero already used it for writing and composing, and later it meant a way of writing.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)^(Nocentini 2010) The final /e/ may be due to [[fr|style]], recorded in 1346, according to DEI and Sabatini–Coletti, and Wiktionary takes the word straight from French.^(DEI|3635)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto 1968)^(Wiktionary) The spelling with ⟨y⟩ in French, from which [[en|style]] comes, arose from confusion with [[grc|στῦλος|tr=stûlos|t=pillar]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) The same Latin word gave [[es|estilo]], and Italian also inherited it as [[stelo]] “stalk”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ De Vaan sees a common root meaning “sharp object” in this word, [[la|stimulus|t=goad]] and [[la|stīva|t=plough handle]], but whether they belong together is uncertain; a link with [[ine-pro|*(s)teyg-|t=to be sharp, to sting]], the root of [[la|instīgō]], has been argued, without positive evidence.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Nocentini and GRADIT date the word before 1313;^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999) DELI's first record is Dante, with the sense of the quality of expression that results from a writer's choices.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999) In the first canto of the ''Inferno'' Dante tells Virgil that from him alone he took “lo bello stile che m'ha fatto onore” (“the fine style that has brought me honour”).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante's ''dolce stil novo'' (''Purgatorio'' XXIV) named the poetry of his circle and later gave the critics' terms ''stil novo'' (1896), ''stilnovo'' and ''stilnovista'' (1942).^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Petrarch already used ''stile'' for a habitual way of acting.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(DEI|3635) The word then spread to the arts: painting and architecture (Lomazzo, 1584), music (Doni, before 1647), the reckoning of the start of the year (''stilo'' before 1582, ''stile'' 1750) and furniture, where Panzini in 1905 called ''stile impero'' a French neologism.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) From English came the sporting sense, first of the action of racehorses (1905), and the sense of elegance and class is recorded in 1960.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Derivatives often came from other languages: ''stilistica'' (1855) is a calque of [[de|Stilistik]], ''stilista'' “fashion designer” of [[en|stylist]], while ''stilistico'' (1883) was still called an ugly neologism by Carducci in 1891.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) In music Italian ''stile'' was rendered in French as ''style'' (1703), and German borrowed it as ''Stile''.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1313 – Dante uses ''stile'' for a manner of writing.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1374 – Petrarch uses it for a habitual way of acting.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1584 – Lomazzo uses it for the style of painters and architects.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+ * Before 1647 – Doni uses it for a musical style.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+ * 1855 – ''Stilistica'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1905 – Panzini records ''stile impero'' and the sporting sense.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1965 – ''Stilista'' is used for a designer.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|style]]: the characteristic forms of expression of a writer, an artist, a school or a period: ''Si riconosce subito lo stile di quel regista.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(literature)'' In ancient and medieval poetics, each of the levels of composition, such as the sublime, the middle and the low style.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # A habitual way of behaving or living: ''Non è nel suo stile arrivare in ritardo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A personal way of dressing; the cut of a garment.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # [[m|en|elegance]], [[m|en|class]], distinction: ''È una persona di grande stile.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The style of a piece of furniture or an object, named after a period or a person: ''un divano stile Luigi XVI''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(sport)'' The technique of an exercise or a sport, ''stile libero'', freestyle swimming.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''(history)'' A way of reckoning the beginning of the year, such as the Florentine style.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(literary, rare)'' A [[m|en|stylus]].^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stilista]]

+ * [[stilistica]]

+ * [[stilistico]]

+ * [[stilizzare]]

+ * [[stilizzazione]]

+ * [[stilema]]

+ * [[stilnovo]]

+ * [[stilnovista]]

+ * [[stilnovismo]]

+ * [[stilliberista]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stilo]]

+ * [[stelo]]

+ * [[stiletto]]

+ * [[la|stilus]]

+ * [[fr|style]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''In stile'' describes furniture made today in the manner of a past period, and ''vecchio stile'' something old-fashioned.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) DEI also records a ''stile'' meaning a fir pole used in scaffolding (1681).^(DEI|3635)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}