svelto Italian · revision 39067

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|formation=derivation|attested=before 1420, Saviozzo|origins=la vellō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈzvɛl.to/, /ˈzvel.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''svelto''' (feminine svelta, masculine plural svelti, feminine plural svelte, superlative sveltissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Its origin is disputed.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) Nocentini, DEI and Wiktionary take it as the past participle of [[svellere|t=to pluck out, uproot]], meaning “detached” and then “slender”, said in particular of a woman's neck.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3686)^(Wiktionary) The verb comes from [[la-vul|*exvellō|alt=*exvellere]], from [[la|vellō|t=to pluck out]].^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline) De Vaan traces that Latin verb to the root [[ine-pro|*welh₃-|t=to strike]], with a nasal present.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ Nocentini once accepted I. Calabresi's view, which starts from a Sienese ⟨svélto⟩ with a closed vowel, a short participle of [[svegliare|t=to wake]], meaning “quick-witted”;^(Nocentini 2010) Irene Falini refuted it, showing that the oldest texts (14th–15th centuries) mean “slim, slender”.^(Nocentini 2010) DELI calls the origin uncertain and cites Calabresi, and the GDLI, Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti follow the derivation from the verb for waking.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Meyer-Lübke and Devoto take it from [[es|suelto|t=loose, free; agile]] instead, and Wiktionary allows its influence.^(REW 1935)^(Devoto 1968)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The word passed into [[fr|svelte]] as a term of painting in 1642, and the English [[m|en|svelte]] (1817) came through French; [[es|esbelto]] and [[pt|esbelto]] also come from it.^(DEI|3686)^(DIFIT)^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in the poet Saviozzo (before 1420), with the sense “slim and slender, agile”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Nocentini dates the word before 1367.^(Nocentini 2010) As a participle, the GDLI quotes Domenico Cavalca for a tree ''isvelto'', uprooted.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ According to Nocentini the sense “quick in moving” is a later extension (second half of the 16th century), and “quick-witted” a further one (18th century).^(Nocentini 2010) DELI dates “quick, unhampered” to 1619 in Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger, and “lively, sharp” to 1848, though Venetian had it in 1829.^(DELI 1999) In French ''svelte'' meant “light, elegant” in the arts, and it meant “slim” of a person from 1668.^(DIFIT) German briefly borrowed ''svelto'' in 1806.^(DIFIT) The phrase ''alla svelta'', “quickly”, is recorded from 1880.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1420 – Saviozzo uses ''svelto'' “slender, agile”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Second half of the 16th century – The sense “quick” appears.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1619 – Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger uses it for “quick, nimble”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1642 – French ''svelte'' is recorded in painting.^(DEI|3686)^(DIFIT)

+ * 1817 – English ''svelte'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1848 – The sense “quick-witted” is recorded in Italian.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1880 – ''Alla svelta'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|quick]], nimble in moving: ''È svelto a salire le scale.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Prompt and quick in acting; as an exclamation, “hurry up!”: ''Svelti, il treno sta partendo!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Of things, rapid: ''Se ne andò a passo svelto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # [[m|en|slender]], slim; of a building, light and slender in line.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Quick-witted, bright: ''Per la sua età è un bambino molto svelto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''Svelto di lingua'': sharp-tongued, ''svelto di mano'': quick to hit out or to steal.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sveltezza]]

+ * [[sveltire]]

+ * [[sveltina]]

+ * [[sveltimento]]

+ * [[sveltamente]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[svellere]]

+ * [[divellere]]

+ * [[fr|svelte]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The stressed vowel is open or closed: /ˈzvɛl.to/ or /ˈzvel.to/.^(Wiktionary)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) As a participle of ''svellere'', “uprooted”, ''svelto'' is rare today.^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}