pista Italian · revision 38950

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation, semantic loan|attested=1440–1447, Sachella|origins=la pīnsō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈpis.ta/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''pista''' ''f'' (plural piste)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably a southern variant of [[pesta|t=footprint, track]], a noun formed from the verb [[pestare|t=to pound, trample]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) The verb is [[inh|la-lat|pistō|alt=pistāre|t=to pound]], an intensive of [[m|la|pīnsō|t=to pound, crush]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The word was borrowed as [[fr|piste]], where it came to mean the track of a horse and then the course of a racetrack, and French gave it back to Italian with these new senses.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) DEI gives the old sense “track”, a southern form also found in Neapolitan and Calabrian, a numbered entry of its own, apart from the modern sense “racecourse”, which it takes from French.^(DEI|2952) Nocentini adds that [[es|pista]] comes from Italian.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is ''pista del piede'', “footprint”, in Sachella (1440–1447), and GRADIT dates the word to before 1447.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DIFIT) The sense is a track or print.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Antonio Cammelli, who died in 1502, wrote ''pista de' calci'' for the marks of kicks, and the word appears in Oudin's dictionary in 1640.^(DELI 1999) DEI finds it in the Neapolitan horseman Federico Grisone (1550) and in Benedetto Castelli (1660).^(DEI|2952) In French [[m|fr|piste]] took the senses of a horse's track (1559), a ring for riding exercise (1584) and later a racecourse (1860).^(DIFIT)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Italian then took these senses back: Petrocchi's dictionary has the beaten earth of horse races in 1891, a cycling track is recorded in 1901, ''pista'' for an airport runway in 1936, ''pista da ballo'' “dance floor” in 1950 and the sound track of a film in 1956, after French ''piste sonore'' (1949).^(DELI 1999) The figurative sense of a lead followed by investigators belongs to the same family of tracks and traces.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1440–1447 – Sachella writes ''pista del piede''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1550 – Federico Grisone uses the Neapolitan ''pista''.^(DEI|2952)

+ * 1640 – Oudin's dictionary lists ''pista''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1860 – French ''piste'' means the course of a racetrack.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1891 – Petrocchi records ''pista'' for a horse-racing track.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1901 – A cycling track is called ''pista''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1936 – ''Pista'' is used for an airport runway.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1950 – ''Pista da ballo'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1956 – The sense “sound track” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|track]], [[m|en|trail]] of prints: ''I cani seguivano la pista della volpe.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A lead, a line of inquiry based on clues: ''La polizia segue una nuova pista.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A path or dirt track made by frequent passage: ''una pista nella savana''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A racetrack or circuit for horse, motor, cycle or foot races: ''Il ciclista ha fatto un giro di pista.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A ground or rink for sports and entertainment: ''pista di pattinaggio'', ''pista da ballo'' (dance floor), ''pista del circo'' (circus ring).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # A ski run, graded blue, red or black by difficulty.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(aviation)'' A [[m|en|runway]]: ''pista di volo'', ''pista di rullaggio'' (taxiway).^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A sound track or recording track on a tape or film.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(slang)'' A line of cocaine.^(Wikizionario)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pistaiolo]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pesta]]

+ * [[pestare]]

+ * [[pesto]]

+ * [[fr|piste]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Pista ciclabile'' is a cycle lane and ''fuori pista'' off-piste skiing.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The exclamation ''pista!'' means “make way!”.^(Wiktionary) The GDLI records a separate obsolete ''pista'', a flatfish, an alteration of Latin ''psetta''.^(GDLI|13, 570)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}