modello Italian · revision 39055

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1347, Modena inventory|origins=la modus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /moˈdɛl.lo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''modello''' ''m'' (plural modelli, feminine modella, diminutive modellìno or (with specific meanings) modellétto, pejorative modellàccio, derogatory modellùccio)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also wrote [[m|roa-oit|modelo]] and [[m|roa-oit|model]].^(TLIO) Older Italian had the plural ''modegli'' beside ''modelli''.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a Romance formation, [[inh|la-vul|*modellus]], a diminutive of [[la|modulus|t=measure; small measure, module]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|2484) The Latin noun is itself a diminutive of [[m|la|modus|t=measure, size, limit]] with the suffix [[m|la|-ulus]].^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012)^(de Vaan 2008) Wiktionary describes the Italian word simply as coming from a variant of the Late Latin noun.^(Wiktionary) DEI compares Late Latin [[m|la-lat|modamentum]], also used in architecture.^(DEI|2484) Körting and Prati give the same reconstructed diminutive; the regular inherited outcome of the Latin noun is [[modano]], with [[fr|moule]] and [[es|molde]] beside it.^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907)^(Prati 1951|670)

+

+ From Italian the word passed into the other languages of Europe: [[fr|modèle]] (1542, at first also spelled [[m|fr|modelle]] and sometimes feminine), [[es|modelo]], [[pt|modelo]] and [[de|Modell]] (1610).^(Nocentini 2010)^(DIFIT)^(DEI|2484) The English word [[m|en|model]] came through French;^(DIFIT) English also borrowed the Italian form [[m|en|modello]] for an artist's preliminary sketch, recorded from 1937.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The oldest trace is the form ''modelo'' “kiln mould” in an inventory written at Modena in 1347; the TLIO's first record is a Sienese document of 1313, where the word names the prototype, drawn or carved, that an artist or craftsman follows.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(TLIO) In the foundry the word named the wooden pattern from which the mould for molten metal was made (Biringuccio, before 1537).^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 16th century the word broadened from the craftsman's pattern to anything worth copying.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) The sense “perfect example, worthy of imitation” is recorded before 1544, and “original” before 1564, in Michelangelo the Younger.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) Vasari explains that sculptors make a small figure of clay, wax or stucco, called a ''modello'', before carving the marble.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Baldinucci (1681) already calls a man or woman who poses for drawing from life a ''modello''; the feminine [[modella]] followed later (before 1829, or 1796 in Nocentini).^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ Modern administration and industry added further senses: the printed form used in public offices (1766–1777), the dressmaker's paper pattern (1891), the garment made to an original design (1946), the industrial prototype for series production (1957), and in science an abstract representation of something that cannot be observed directly (1869).^(DELI 1999) Today a ''modello'' is also a man who models clothes on the catwalk.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1313 – A Sienese document has ''modello'' for an artist's prototype.^(TLIO)

+ * 1347 – ''Modelo'' “kiln mould” appears in an inventory at Modena.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1537 – Biringuccio uses it for the foundry pattern.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1542 – French ''modelle'' (later ''modèle'') is first recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * Before 1544 – The sense “example to be imitated” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+ * 1598 – Florio records the verb ''modellare''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1610 – German ''Modell'' is first recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1681 – Baldinucci uses ''modello'' for a person posing for artists.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1766–1777 – ''Modello'' names an official administrative form.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1957 – The sense “industrial prototype” and the noun ''modellismo'' are recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|model]]: an object, real or made, that is meant to be copied, portrayed or reproduced: ''Lo scultore lavorava guardando un modello di gesso.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A person or thing held up as an [[esempio|alt=example]] worth imitating: ''Per molti giovani quell'atleta è un modello.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A man who poses for painters, sculptors or photographers, or who shows clothes in fashion shows (feminine [[modella]]): ''Ha lavorato come modello per una casa di moda.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A [[prototipo|alt=prototype]] for industrial production, and each version of a product made from it: ''Hanno appena presentato il nuovo modello di lavatrice.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A scale [[m|en|replica]] of a building, machine or organ, made for study or display: ''In sala c'era il modello del nuovo stadio.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # A paper [[m|en|pattern]] used to cut the fabric for a garment, or a garment made to an original design.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(foundry)'' The pattern, usually of wood, used to shape the mould for molten metal.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # An official [[modulo|alt=form]] to be filled in for an administrative procedure: ''Bisogna compilare il modello e consegnarlo in ufficio.''^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''(science)'' A simplified representation of a system or phenomenon: ''un modello matematico''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[modella]]

+ * [[modellare]]

+ * [[modellino]]

+ * [[modellismo]]

+ * [[modellista]]

+ * [[modellabile]]

+ * [[modellato]]

+ * [[modellatore]]

+ * [[modellatura]]

+ * [[modellistico]]

+ * [[modellistica]]

+ * [[modellizzazione]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[modulo]]

+ * [[modo]]

+ * [[modano]]

+ * [[la|modulus]]

+ * [[fr|modèle]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Used after a noun, ''modello'' is invariable and means “exemplary”: ''un'azienda modello'', ''scolari modello''.^(Treccani 2011) ''Prendere a modello'' someone is to imitate them.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}