libertà Italian · revision 38833

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=13th century, Guittone d'Arezzo|origins=la līber}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /li.berˈta/^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Forms==

+ '''libertà''' ''f'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|lībertās|t=freedom; the condition of a free man]], a learned word taken from Latin.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|2221)^(Wiktionary) The Latin noun was formed from [[m|la|līber|t=free]] with the suffix [[m|la|-tās]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) Italian took it from the accusative [[m|la|lībertās|alt=lībertātem]], and the old forms [[roa-oit|libertade]] and [[roa-oit|libertate]] keep the full ending that the modern word has lost.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020) The same Latin word gave [[fr|liberté]] and [[es|libertad]], and, by way of French, [[en|liberty]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|2221)

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+ Old Latin spellings with ⟨loeb-⟩ and [[xfa|loifirtato|t=of freedom]] show that the root had a diphthong.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan traces [[m|la|līber]] to [[itc-pro|*leuþero-]] and [[ine-pro|*h₁leudʰero-]], an adjective for one “belonging to the people”, which also gave [[grc|ἐλεύθερος|tr=eleútheros|t=free]].^(de Vaan 2008) The verbal root meant “to grow”, as the name of the Italian god of vegetation [[m|la|Līber]] still shows.^(de Vaan 2008)

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+ DELI notes that the senses of the word reached Italian and the other European languages at different times, and that [[libertario]] and [[liberticida]] render [[fr|libertaire]] (1858) and [[m|fr|liberticide]] (1791).^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DEI records the word in the 13th century, when it could also mean “liberality, generosity”.^(DEI|2221) The GDLI quotes Guittone d'Arezzo, who names ''libertà'' among the virtues, and Dante, whose Cato is told of a soul seeking freedom: ''Libertà va cercando, ch'è sì cara'', “he goes seeking liberty, which is so dear” (''Purgatorio'' 1, 71).^(GDLI) DELI dates the sense “the state of one who is free, as opposed to slavery” to this passage of 1313–1319.^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The scholastic sense, the power of the will to choose between alternatives, runs from Guittone and Dante through the philosophical tradition, and Tommaseo still put it first: the faculty of choosing between two or more things.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Dante also used the word for freedom from obligations and ties (before 1321).^(DELI 1999) The sense “freedom from control or restraint” is dated before 1543, in Agnolo Firenzuola.^(DELI 1999)

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+ In the plural the word took the sense of over-familiar or bold behaviour: Manzoni wrote ''prendersi la libertà'' and ''pigliarsi tante libertà'' in 1821–1842.^(DELI 1999) The sense “the state of one who is not a prisoner” is recorded in 1869, and the legal ''libertà provvisoria'', release from preventive custody, appears in the title of a Palermo pamphlet of 1862.^(DELI 1999) The political sense, the independence of a people from foreign rule or from dictatorship, and the list of civil liberties (''libertà di parola'', ''di stampa'', ''di culto'') make up much of the modern entry.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – The word is recorded, also in the sense “generosity”.^(DEI|2221)

+ * 1313–1319 – Dante's ''Purgatorio'' uses it for freedom as opposed to slavery.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+ * Before 1543 – Firenzuola uses it for freedom from restraint.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1791 – French ''liberticide'' is coined, later rendered as ''liberticida''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1821–1823 – Manzoni writes ''pigliarsi tante libertà'' for taking liberties.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1862 – ''Libertà provvisoria'', release on bail, appears in a legal title.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1869 – The sense “state of not being imprisoned” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|freedom]], [[m|en|liberty]]: the condition of one who can act without constraint, and is not a slave or a prisoner: ''Il giudice lo rimise in libertà.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The freedom to think, speak and choose for oneself, and the rights that guarantee it: ''libertà di parola'', ''libertà di stampa'', ''libertà religiosa''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # The [[m|en|independence]] of a people or state from foreign rule or a dictatorship: ''Lottarono per la libertà della patria.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Freedom from obligations, ties or commitments, also free time: ''qualche ora di libertà''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Lack of restraint in speech or behaviour, excessive familiarity, ''prendersi delle libertà'', to take liberties.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(philosophy)'' The power of the will to choose, [[m|en|free will]].^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

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+ ==Word family==

+ * [[libertario]]

+ * [[liberticida]]

+ * [[semilibertà]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[libero]]

+ * [[liberare]]

+ * [[liberale]]

+ * [[la|libertas]]

+ * [[fr|liberté]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Mettersi in libertà'' means to change into comfortable clothes at home.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) ''Libertà vigilata'' is a security measure under which a person is free but under supervision, and ''libertà provvisoria'' release from preventive custody pending trial.^(Treccani 2011)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}