palazzo Italian · revision 38985

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=12th century, Ritmo di Sant'Alessio|origins=la Palātium}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /paˈlat.t͡so/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''palazzo''' ''m'' (plural palazzi, relational adjective palaziale, diminutive palazetto m or palazina f, augmentative palazzone)^(Wiktionary)

+ The old literary form is ''palagio''; other old and dialect forms include ''palatiu'', ''palazio'' and ''palàsio''.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)^(Prati 1951|727)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|palātium|t=palace]], originally the name of the Palatine Hill in Rome, [[m|la|Palātium]], where Augustus fixed the emperors' residence, and then the imperial palace that stood there.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) In late Latin it came to mean any royal hall, and DEI notes that it is steadily attested in the Latin of Italy from the 6th to the 11th century.^(DEI|2728) The word is pan-Romance: [[fr|palais]], [[oc|palatz]], [[ca|palau]], [[es|palacio]], [[pt|paço]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Through a [[la-vul|*palantia]] it passed into [[goh|pfalanza]], whence [[de|Pfalz]] “Palatinate”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|2728)

+

+ The origin of the hill's name is uncertain: DELI and Devoto connect it with a pre-Latin base [[m|la|*pala|t=roundness]];^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Devoto 1968) Wiktionary lists other proposals, such as a link with the Arcadian city of Pallantium.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The old variant [[palagio]] is attributed by Nocentini to northern phonetics, and by Meyer-Lübke to French.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) In the 16th century, writers who favoured a common Italian over Florentine chose the form closer to Latin over the variant.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is ''palatiu'' in the ''Ritmo di Sant'Alessio'' (12th century), for a great noble building;^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) ''palagio'' and ''palazzo'' both appear in the ''Novellino'' (late 13th century).^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Already in the late 13th century the word meant a prince's court, and in Venetian it named the seat of government or of a court in 1299.^(DELI 1999) In old Tuscan ''andare a palazzo'' meant going to the law courts, and a proverb wished for “bread in the square, justice in the palace”.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) In southern Italy and once in Dalmatia ''palazzo'' simply meant “house”.^(DEI|2728)^(REW 1935) In 1581 Francesco Sansovino remarked that no city in Europe had more palaces than Venice, though the Venetians modestly called them ''case'', keeping the name ''palazzo'' for the Doge's.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ Today a ''palazzo'' is also any large apartment block, and in journalism ''il Palazzo'' is the political power seen as remote and self-serving.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) English borrowed ''palazzo'' for a large imposing building (1657 in the form ''palazza'', OED; 1660s, Etymonline), German in 1730 and French at the end of the 19th century.^(DIFIT)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 12th century – ''Palatiu'' appears in the ''Ritmo di Sant'Alessio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Late 13th century – ''Palazzo'' and ''palagio'' appear in the ''Novellino''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1299 – In Venetian it names the seat of government or of a court.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1581 – Sansovino writes on the palaces of Venice.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1657 – English ''palazza'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1730 – German ''Palazzo'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1768 – ''Palazzina'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|palace]], a large, architecturally imposing building, once a noble residence and now often housing public offices or a museum: ''Il museo ha sede in un palazzo del Seicento.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The residence or court of a sovereign: ''intrighi di palazzo'', palace intrigues.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A large apartment building, a block of flats: ''Abitano in un palazzo di periferia.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A building for a public purpose: ''palazzo di giustizia'', law courts, ''palazzo dello sport'', indoor arena.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(journalism)'' ''il Palazzo'': political power, seen as remote and self-serving.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(archaic)'' The court of law.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[palazzina]]

+ * [[palazzetto]]

+ * [[palazzotto]]

+ * [[palazzone]]

+ * [[palazzaccio]]

+ * [[palazzinaro]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[paladino]]

+ * [[Palatinato]]

+ * [[palatino]]

+ * [[Palatino]]

+ * [[la|palātium]]

+ * [[fr|palais]]

+ * [[en|palace]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A minor word ''palazzo'' “pile”, one of the large piles of a harbour's palisade, is recorded in Giovanni Villani; the GDLI derives it from [[palo]].^(GDLI) ''Palazzo Chigi'' is used for the Italian prime minister's office, and ''palazzo Madama'' for the Senate.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}