secolo Italian · revision 38889

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1231–1250, Cielo d'Alcamo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈsɛ.ko.lo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''secolo''' ''m'' (plural secoli)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|saeculum|t=generation; lifetime; age; century]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) In Christian Latin it also meant “mortal life, the world”, a calque of [[grc|αἰών|tr=aiṓn|t=lifetime, age]], which had itself taken this sense from a Hebrew word for “generation”; from it came [[m|la|saeculāris]] “pagan, lay”, the source of [[secolare]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(DELI 1999) The Romance words of this type, such as [[fr|siècle]] and [[es|siglo]], are learned too, but older or dialect forms such as [[pms|sevol]] show a more popular development.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The Latin word comes from [[itc-pro|*saitlom]], and only Celtic has a sure cognate: [[cy|hoedl]] and [[br|hoazl]] “lifespan, age”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan reconstructs [[ine-pro|*seh₂i-tlo-|t=lifespan]] and connects it with [[hit|išhai-|t=to bind]] and [[sa|स्यति|tr=syáti|t=binds]];^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Wiktionary explains the sense as the successive generations bound together in time.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Cielo d'Alcamo's ''contrasto'' (1231–1250), in the Christian sense “mortal, earthly life”.^(DELI 1999) The sense “a hundred years” follows in Brunetto Latini (before 1294).^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Brunetto Latini also used ''secolo'' for worldly life as opposed to religious life (before 1294), and Dante for a period of history (before 1321).^(DELI 1999) Boccaccio explained that “secolo, in its proper meaning, is a span of a hundred years, after the Roman usage” (''‘Secolo’, secondo il suo proprio significato, è uno spazio di tempo di cento anni, secondo il romano uso'').^(GDLI|18) Old and dialect forms include ''seculo'', ''segolo'' and ''siègolo''.^(GDLI|18)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ The hyperbolic sense, a time that seems very long (''è un secolo che…''), is recorded in 1829.^(DELI 1999) Phrases name an age by what marks it: ''il secolo dei lumi'' for the 18th century, and ''il male del secolo'', tuberculosis in the 19th century and later cancer and AIDS.^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Zingarelli 2010) Italian also formed [[trasecolare]] (15th century), literally “to go out of the world”, hence “to be astonished”.^(Nocentini 2010) Ladin took the word as ''sekolo''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1231–1250 – Cielo d'Alcamo uses ''secolo'' for “mortal life”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for “a hundred years” and for worldly life.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it for a period of history.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 15th century – ''Trasecolare'' is formed.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1680 – ''Secolarizzare'' is first recorded, after French ''séculariser''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1829 – The hyperbolic sense “a very long time” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|century]], a period of a hundred years: ''Il ponte ha quasi due secoli.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # With an ordinal: one of the centuries counted from the birth of Christ: ''il quinto secolo dopo Cristo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(hyperbole)'' A very long time: ''Ci hai messo un secolo!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # In the plural: a long, indefinite time: ''un'usanza che resiste da secoli''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # An [[m|en|age]], a period marked by a ruler, a culture or discoveries: ''il secolo dei grandi viaggi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The age in which one lives: ''le mode del secolo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Worldly life, lay life as opposed to religious life: ''lasciare il secolo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[secolare]]

+ * [[secolarità]]

+ * [[secolarizzare]]

+ * [[secolarizzazione]]

+ * [[secolarmente]]

+ * [[trasecolare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|saeculum]]

+ * [[fr|siècle]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In dates ''secolo'' is abbreviated ''sec.'' or ''s.''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Sabatini–Coletti note that the 20th century strictly runs from 1901 to 2000, though it is usually taken as 1900–1999.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}