isolato Italian · revision 39022

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1550, Giorgio Vasari|origins=la īnsula}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /i.zoˈla.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''isolato''' (feminine isolata, masculine plural isolati, feminine plural isolate, superlative isolatissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective is the past participle of [[isolare]] “to isolate”, a verb formed on [[isola]] “island” and recorded before 1597.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The noun meaning “city block” is formed [[af|it|isola|-ato]], with the base word in the sense of [[la|īnsula|t=island; block of buildings]], a block of houses standing apart.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DEI|2117) Wiktionary takes both from [[m|la|īnsulātus|t=made into an island]].^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012)

+

+ The adjective was borrowed as [[fr|isolé]], used of a place from 1636 and of a lonely person from 1694, and through French into English as [[m|en|isolated]].^(DIFIT)^(Wiktionary) English also borrowed [[m|en|isolato]] in 1851 for an isolated, excluded person.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record of the adjective is Giorgio Vasari in 1550, in the sense “standing apart, secluded”.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) Vasari writes that a tomb was placed in a chapel with rich ornament and “tutta isolata”, standing free on every side.^(GDLI|8, 581)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun “block of buildings surrounded by streets” is recorded before 1600 in Bernardo Davanzati, whose Tacitus tells how Tiberius paid for the houses and ''isolati'' burnt on the Aventine.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The old sense “island” or “full of islands” is rare and obsolete.^(GDLI|8, 582)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ The adjective spread from buildings to people: a solitary person is recorded in 1618, and a fact taken apart from its context before 1774.^(DIFIT) Alessandro Volta used it in electrical science, for a body cut off from the passage of current.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Modern senses include an isolated case, a village cut off by snow, and in cycling a rider who belongs to no team.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1550 – Vasari uses ''isolato'' of a free-standing monument.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+ * Before 1597 – The verb ''isolare'' is recorded in Soderini.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1600 – Davanzati uses ''isolato'' for a block of houses.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1618 – It is used of a solitary person.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1636 – French ''isolé'' is used of a place.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1851 – English ''isolato'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|isolated]], cut off or separated from the rest: ''Dopo la frana il paese è rimasto isolato per tre giorni.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Remote, [[solitario|alt=solitary]], little frequented: ''una baita isolata in montagna''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Single, not followed or accompanied by others: ''un episodio isolato''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Living apart from others, without human contacts.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(physics)'' [[m|en|insulated]] thermally, acoustically or electrically; of a system, not exchanging energy with its surroundings.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(cycling)'' Of a rider, not belonging to a team.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A city [[m|en|block]], a building or group of buildings surrounded by streets: ''La farmacia è a due isolati dalla stazione.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A person who lives apart from the community, or who is excluded from it.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(cycling)'' A rider who races without a team.^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[isolatamente]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[isolare]]

+ * [[isolatore]]

+ * [[isolazione]]

+ * [[isola]]

+ * [[isolamento]]

+ * [[isolano]]

+ * [[la|insula]]

+ * [[fr|isolé]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The Italian Wiktionary also notes a heraldic use, for land or walls that do not touch the edges of the shield.^(Wikizionario)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}