rapito Italian · revision 38817

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1306, Iacopone da Todi|origins=la rapiō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /raˈpi.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''rapito''' (feminine rapita, masculine plural rapiti, feminine plural rapite)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the past participle of [[rapire|t=to kidnap; to enrapture]], used as an adjective and a noun.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wikizionario) The verb continues [[la|rapiō|t=to seize, carry off]], which moved to the fourth conjugation already in Vulgar Latin as [[m|la-vul|*rapiō|alt=*rapīre]], as [[ro|răpi]] also shows; [[fr|ravir]] is the same verb.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|3208)^(Wiktionary) DEI ties the sense “enraptured”, which it dates to Algarotti in the 18th century, to [[fr|ravi]].^(DEI|3208)

+

+ De Vaan derives the Latin verb from [[itc-pro|*rap-i-|t=to seize]] and a PIE [[ine-pro|*h₁rp-i-]], the zero grade of a root “to snatch” also seen in [[grc|ἐρέπτομαι|tr=eréptomai|t=to devour]], though the vowel is not fully explained.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI records ''rapito'' many times in Iacopone da Todi (before 1306), in the figurative sense of the verb: carried away, wholly absorbed in feeling.^(DELI 1999) The sense “carried off by force” is in Boccaccio's ''Decameron'', where brides are seized “from the middle of the banquets”, and in an Italian version of Ovid's ''Heroides'' signed “Briseis the carried-off”.^(GDLI|15, 463)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The participle long served for the abducted women of myth and history, Helen and Briseis, and Tassoni's mock epic ''La secchia rapita'' (“The Stolen Bucket”) plays on that use.^(GDLI|15, 463)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) In mystical language ''rapito'' meant raised above nature in contemplation, and Tommaseo–Bellini also lists ''rapito da morte'' for someone taken by a sudden illness.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ As a noun, ''rapito'' is the victim of a kidnapping, a sense the modern dictionaries all record.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The adjective keeps both lines: kidnapped, and spellbound, as in Manzoni's line ''rapito d'ignoto contento'', “seized by an unknown joy”.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses the verb ''rapire''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses ''rapito'' “enraptured”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for women carried off by force.^(GDLI|15, 463)

+ * 18th century – Algarotti uses it for “enthusiastic”.^(DEI|3208)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|kidnapped]], carried off by force or deceit: ''Il bambino rapito è stato ritrovato.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' [[m|en|rapt]], spellbound, wholly absorbed by an emotion: ''Seguiva il concerto con aria rapita.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A kidnapped person, the victim of a [[sequestro]]: ''La famiglia del rapito ha chiesto il silenzio stampa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rapitamente]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rapire]]

+ * [[rapimento]]

+ * [[rapitore]]

+ * [[ratto]]

+ * [[la|rapiō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}