latte Italian · revision 38949

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 12th century, Proverbia quae dicuntur|origins=la lac}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈlat.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''latte''' ''m'' (countable and uncountable, plural latti, diminutive-endearing lattùccio or latticèllo)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|lacte]], [[roa-oit|late]], [[roa-oit|layte]] and [[roa-oit|lat]], and in some texts the word is feminine.^(TLIO)^(GDLI|8, 826)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|lacte]], the form of classical [[la|lac|t=milk]] in later Latin.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The Latin neuter was already treated as a masculine, with the accusative [[m|la-lat|lactem]], in Petronius, in inscriptions and in late texts, and in some dialects the word became feminine.^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary) DÉRom reconstructs [[m|la-vul|*lacte]] for every Romance language: Romanian kept the neuter, most of the Romance area made it masculine, and Spanish and Portuguese feminine.^(DÉRom)

+

+ The same word is [[fr|lait]], [[oc|lach]], [[ca|llet]], [[es|leche]], [[pt|leite]], [[sc|latte]] and [[ro|lapte]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Körting 1907)^(DÉRom) The Latin noun has a clear relative only in [[grc|γάλα|tr=gála]], genitive [[m|grc|γάλακτος|tr=gálaktos]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968)^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan reconstructs [[itc-pro|*(g)lagt-]] and [[ine-pro|*glgt-|t=milk]], with the first /g/ lost in Latin by dissimilation, and rejects the idea of a loan from Greek.^(de Vaan 2008) Nocentini suggests that there is no common Indo-European word for so basic a food because its names were given within the family, among women.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the Venetian ''Proverbia quae dicuntur'' of the late 12th century, and DELI's in Iacopone da Todi, who died in 1306.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The sense is the white liquid from the breasts of mammals that feeds the young.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO) Iacopone praises the Virgin, who had milk ''senza sementa'', without seed.^(GDLI|8, 826)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already had phrases still in use: ''dare il latte'' “to suckle”, ''levare dal latte'' “to wean”, ''figliuolo di latte'' for a child nursed by a wet nurse, and ''latte di gallina'' for an exquisite food.^(TLIO) Milk as food from cows, sheep and goats appears in the 14th-century Serapion, beside cheese and butter.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ''Latte di gallina'', egg yolk beaten in milk with sugar and rum, is recorded before 1576, and Aretino in 1534 says someone enjoys everything down to “hen's milk”.^(DELI 1999) Francesco Redi used ''latte'' for any milky liquid before 1698, and ''latte di cocco'' followed.^(DELI 1999) The 20th century named the products of the dairy industry: ''latte scremato'' (1901), ''latte pastorizzato'' (1903) and ''latte in polvere'' (1914).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ''Via lattea'' is modelled on Latin ''via lactea'', the shining road of the gods in Ovid.^(DELI 1999) The derivative ''latticinio'' goes back, as Johann Ramminger showed, to a misreading ''lacticinia'' in some copies of a rule for nuns wrongly ascribed to Saint Jerome.^(Nocentini 2010) English took ''latte'', short for ''caffè latte'', for an espresso with milk, by 1990.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – The Venetian ''Proverbia quae dicuntur'' use the word.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses ''latte''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – The Italian Serapion uses it for milk as food.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1534 – Aretino has the phrase “hen's milk”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1698 – Francesco Redi uses ''latte'' for a milky liquid.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1901 – ''Latte scremato'' “skimmed milk” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1903 – ''Latte pastorizzato'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1914 – ''Latte in polvere'' “powdered milk” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1990 – English ''latte'' “coffee with milk” is recorded.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|milk]]: the white liquid produced by the [[m|en|mammary gland|alt=mammary glands]] of female mammals to feed their young: ''Il vitello beve il latte della mucca.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Milk from cows, goats or other animals as a food and drink: ''Ogni mattina beve una tazza di latte caldo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A drink or dessert made with milk.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+ # A milky liquid: ''latte di cocco'' (coconut milk), ''latte detergente'' (cleansing milk).^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # A pure white colour.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wikizionario)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(invariable)'' Milk-white: ''una camicia bianco latte''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[allattare]]

+ * [[lattaio]]

+ * [[lattante]]

+ * [[latteo]]

+ * [[latteria]]

+ * [[latticino]]

+ * [[latticinio]]

+ * [[lattiero]]

+ * [[lattiginoso]]

+ * [[lattemiele]]

+ * [[lattico]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lattuga]]

+ * [[la|lac]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Fixed phrases include ''denti da latte'' “milk teeth”, ''fratello di latte'' “foster brother nursed by the same woman”, ''avere ancora il latte alla bocca'' “to be still wet behind the ears” and ''far venire il latte alle ginocchia'' “to bore stiff”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}