azienda Italian · revision 38990

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1602, reports of Venetian ambassadors|origins=la faciō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /adˈd͡zjɛn.da/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''azienda''' ''f'' (plural aziende)^(Wiktionary)

+ An older ''ziènda'' is recorded in Salvini and in popular rural speech, and Carducci wrote ''agènda''.^(Prati 1951|91)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|es|hacienda]], in the older spelling [[osp|hazienda]], “occupation; estate, wealth; administration of property”, recorded in Spanish from 1115.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary) The Spanish word continues [[la|facienda|t=things to be done]], the neuter plural of the gerundive of [[m|la|faciō|t=to do, to make]], reinterpreted as a feminine singular.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003) In Spanish the meaning moved from “occupation” to “possessions” and then to “administration”, the sense in which Italian borrowed it.^(GDLI) The same Latin form gave [[pt|fazenda]] and [[oc|fazenda]], and in Italian, by inheritance, [[faccenda]], a doublet of this word.^(REW 1935)^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The Latin verb goes back to [[itc-pro|*faki-]], from the root [[ine-pro|*dʰeh₁-|t=to put]], whose final consonant arose in the aorist, as in [[grc|ἔθηκα|tr=éthēka|t=I put]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The word appears in the reports that Venetian ambassadors read to the Senate: in 1602, and in 1608 Francesco Priuli describes the Spanish ''Consiglio d'Azienda'', which dealt with the royal estate and the revenues and expenses of the Crown.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The first sense is thus the administration of a patrimony.^(Treccani 2011)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Tommaseo's dictionary (1861) still gives the old sense, the management of the economic affairs of a household or commune, and a colloquial “messy business”.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) In the 19th century the word took on its modern economic meaning, an organisation of people and goods that produces goods or services;^(GDLI)^(GRADIT 2003) ''azienda agricola'' is a farm business.^(GDLI)^(GRADIT 2003) The adjective ''aziendale'' is recorded from 1931, ''aziendalismo'' from 1959.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ In law the ''azienda'' is the set of assets the entrepreneur organises to run the business.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011) Public bodies with financial autonomy are also called ''aziende'', from the ''azienda autonoma'' to the ''azienda sanitaria locale'', the local health authority.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1115 – Spanish ''hacienda'' is first recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1602 – ''Azienda'' appears in the reports of Venetian ambassadors.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1608 – Priuli describes the Spanish ''Consiglio d'Azienda''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1931 – ''Aziendale'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1959 – ''Aziendalismo'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|company]], a [[m|en|business]]: an organisation of people and goods for an economic purpose: ''Lavora da vent'anni nella stessa azienda.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(law)'' The assets organised by the entrepreneur to run a business.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A public body with administrative autonomy that runs a service.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A sector or country seen as an economic whole.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(archaic)'' The [[m|en|estate]] of a public body or private person; the administration of affairs.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[aziendale]]

+ * [[aziendalismo]]

+ * [[aziendalista]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[faccenda]]

+ * [[fare]]

+ * [[es|hacienda]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}