totale Italian · revision 39105

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1543, Agnolo Firenzuola|origins=la tōtus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /toˈta.le/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''totale''' ''m or f'' by sense (plural totali)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-lat|tōtālis|t=entire, total]], a learned word, formed from [[m|la|tōtus|t=whole, all]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) DELI thinks it probably came in through [[fr|total]], recorded as an adjective from 1370, as its later derivatives did;^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|3842)^(Devoto 1968) DEI and Avviamento call the Latin source scholastic or Medieval Latin.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|3842)^(Devoto 1968) The same adjective is [[es|total]].^(Nocentini 2010) The popular descendant of the Latin base is [[tutto]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The noun, “the sum”, is modelled on the French phrase [[m|fr|somme totale]];^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) DELI quotes Rigutini, who found it unnecessary but too widespread to reject.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The derivatives [[totalizzare]] and [[totalizzatore]] are likewise modelled on [[fr|totaliser]] and [[m|fr|totalisateur]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) DELI argues that [[totalitario]] and [[totalitarismo]], by contrast, arose in Italian, earlier than [[de|totalitär]] (1937).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The origin of Latin [[m|la|tōtus]] is unclear: de Vaan finds neither a derivation from a form meaning “stuffed” nor other proposals convincing.^(de Vaan 2008) Wiktionary mentions a possible link with [[osc|touto|t=people]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Agnolo Firenzuola (before 1543), with the sense “full, entire, complete”.^(DELI 1999) Nocentini gives 1475 and Zingarelli “before 1455”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010) An anonymous translation of Dante's ''Monarchia'' contrasts the ''ordine parziale'' with the ''ordine totale'', the order of the parts with that of the whole.^(GDLI|21, 90)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The adjective stayed learned for some time;^(Prati 1951|1005) Prati calls it a non-popular word.^(Prati 1951|1005) Lionardo Salviati (before 1589) has the noun ''totalità''.^(DELI 1999) The noun ''totale'' is first dated by DELI to 1848 for the result of an addition;^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|21, 90) GDLI quotes it already from Baretti and Alfieri in the sense “the whole, the entirety”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|21, 90)

+

+ In the 20th century the word entered politics and warfare: ''guerra totale'' “total war” is a calque of German ''Totalkrieg''.^(DEI|3842) The derivative ''totalitario'' was used of the Fascist state from the 1920s and 1930s, and ''totalitarismo'' followed.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Technical senses include ''anestesia totale'', general anaesthesia, shortened to ''la totale'', and in film the ''campo totale'', a wide shot that shows the whole setting.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1475 – Nocentini's date for the first record.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Before 1543 – Agnolo Firenzuola uses ''totale'' “entire”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1589 – Lionardo Salviati uses ''totalità''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1812 – ''Totalizzare'' appears, modelled on French.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1848 – ''Totale'' is recorded as the result of an addition.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1891 – ''Totalizzatore'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1923 – Nocentini's date for ''totalitario''.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|complete]], entire, absolute; the opposite of [[parziale]]: ''Durante il blackout c'era un buio totale.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Including everything; [[m|en|overall]], [[globale]]: ''la somma totale delle spese''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Unconditional, blind: ''Ha una fiducia totale nel suo medico.''^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|total]] amount; the whole: ''Il totale degli iscritti supera i mille.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' The result of an addition; the [[somma|alt=sum]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(cinema)'' A wide shot (''campo totale'') showing the whole subject and its background.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(medicine, feminine)'' General [[anestesia|alt=anaesthesia]].^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[totalità]]

+ * [[totalitario]]

+ * [[totalitarismo]]

+ * [[totalizzare]]

+ * [[totalizzatore]]

+ * [[subtotale]]

+ * [[totalmente]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tutto]]

+ * [[la|totus]]

+ * [[fr|total]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''In totale'' means “altogether, in all”.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The adverb is ''totalmente''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}