distanza Italian · revision 38901

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1282, Restoro d'Arezzo|origins=la distō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /disˈtan.t͡sa/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''distanza''' ''f'' (plural distanze)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include ''distanzia'', ''distancia'', ''destanzia'' and ''distansa''.^(TLIO)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned borrowing, [[bor|la|distantia|t=distance; difference]], formed from [[m|la|distāns]], the present participle of [[m|la|distō|t=to stand apart, be distant]], with the suffix [[m|la|-ia]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) DEI and the GDLI think the Latin noun was modelled on [[grc|διάστασις|tr=diástasis|t=interval, separation]], and both compare [[fr|distance]], recorded from the 13th century.^(DEI|1355)^(GDLI|4, 790)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's earliest record is the form ''distanzia'' in Guittone d'Arezzo (before 1294), in the figurative sense “difference in condition or upbringing”.^(DELI 1999) The TLIO's first record is in Restoro d'Arezzo's ''Composizione del mondo'' of 1282, where it is a measurable interval between two points.^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante uses it for the space between places or people, and for remoteness: Ulysses sees ''una montagna, bruna per la distanza'', “a mountain, dark because of the distance”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|4, 790) In Old Italian it also meant a difference or disagreement between two things, and ''senza distanza'' meant “at once”.^(TLIO) Matteo Villani applies it to the time between two events (before 1363).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Geometry took it for the length of the segment between two points (Marino, 1607–1614), and sport for the length of a race (1956).^(DELI 1999) Modern phrases are ''tenere le distanze'' “not to be too familiar”, ''prendere le distanze'' “to distance oneself”, and ''a distanza'' “from afar, remotely”, as in ''insegnamento a distanza''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1282 – Restoro d'Arezzo uses ''distanza'' for an interval in space.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone has ''distanzia'' “difference”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it for distance in space.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1363 – Matteo Villani uses it for an interval of time.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1607–1614 – The geometrical sense appears in Marino.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1956 – The sense “length of a race” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|distance]], the space between two places, things or people: ''La stazione è a dieci minuti di distanza.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' The length of the segment joining two points; the distance between parallel lines or planes.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Remoteness: ''La distanza rende difficili le visite.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # An interval of time: ''Sono nati a due anni di distanza.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Difference, [[m|en|gap]]: ''la distanza tra le loro idee''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(sport)'' The length of a race; in boxing, the scheduled length of a bout.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[distanziare]]

+ * [[distanziale]]

+ * [[semidistanza]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[distare]]

+ * [[distante]]

+ * [[la|distantia]]

+ * [[fr|distance]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}