spiaggia Italian · revision 38875

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=14th century, Portolani|origins=grc πλάγιος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈspjad.d͡ʒa/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''spiaggia''' ''f'' (plural spiagge)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old and dialect forms include [[roa-oit|splagia]], [[roa-oit|spiaza]] and [[roa-oit|spiaça]].^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|it|s-|piaggia]], with an intensive prefix.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) GDLI takes the prefix from the Latin [[m|la|ex-]].^(GDLI) DELI mentions a less persuasive proposal by Pisani.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The base, meaning “slope”, comes from [[la-lat|plagia|t=gentle slope, hillside]], according to Nocentini from [[grc|πλάγια|tr=plágia|t=sides, flanks]], the neuter plural of [[m|grc|πλάγιος|tr=plágios|t=oblique, sideways]], taken as a feminine singular.^(Nocentini 2010) Wiktionary instead derives it from [[la|plaga|t=expanse, region]].^(Wiktionary) Schiaffini, quoted by DELI, held that the Italian word cannot come from the classical noun but only from the Late Latin one, found in a letter of Gregory the Great of 600 and frequent in medieval charters of central and southern Italy for a gentle slope.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ In the coastal south the Late Latin word took the sense “seashore”, which is the sense of [[es|playa]], [[pt|praia]] and [[scn|praja]]; in standard Italian that sense settled on the derivative with the prefix.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) [[fr|plage]] and [[ca|platja]] were borrowed from Italian.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is ''splagia'' in the 14th-century ''Portolani'', the sailing guides, and the TLIO's is Jacopo della Lana's commentary on the ''Inferno'' (Bologna, 1324–1328), in the sense “stretch of coast along the sea”.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO) Giovanni Villani (before 1348) seems to use the word for a gentle mountain slope, though DELI asks for the manuscripts to be checked.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian also used ''spiaggia'' for sloping ground on the side of a hill, like ''piaggia'', and in phrases such as ''per tutte le spiagge'', “everywhere”.^(TLIO) The form ''spiaggia'' is found in the ''Motti'' of the Piovano Arlotto (before 1484), where a captain keeps a whole stretch of coast safe for shipping.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ The modern sense, a stretch of shore visited by bathers in summer, appears in DELI's definition;^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) GRADIT keeps the geographical senses “low coast built up from sediment” and “shore of a lake or river” apart.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The figurative ''ultima spiaggia'' is the last hope or last chance of solving a situation.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 14th century – ''Splagia'' appears in the ''Portolani''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1324–1328 – Jacopo della Lana uses ''spiaggia'' for the coast.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani may use it for a gentle slope.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1484 – The Piovano Arlotto uses the form ''spiaggia''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1553 – French ''plage'' appears in Amyot.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|beach]]: a flat strip of sand or shingle along the sea.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A stretch of shore used by bathers, often with bathing establishments: ''D'estate passiamo le giornate in spiaggia.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(geography)'' A low [[m|en|coast]] built up from sediment brought by rivers or eroded from nearby rocks.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # The shore of a lake or river.^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI)

+ # ''(literary)'' Flat land, a stretch of country.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[spiaggiaiolo]]

+ * [[spiaggiale]]

+ * [[spiaggiare]]

+ * [[spiaggiata]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[piaggia]]

+ * [[fr|plage]]

+ * [[es|playa]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Spiaggia libera'' is a beach open to all, not occupied by bathing establishments, and ''lettura da spiaggia'' is light reading.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}