vantaggio Italian · revision 39106

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=13th century, Sicilian School (vantagio)|origins=la-lat abante}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /vanˈtad.d͡ʒo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vantaggio''' ''m'' (plural vantaggi)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also had the fuller form [[roa-oit|avvantaggio]], spelled [[m|roa-oit|avantaggio]], [[m|roa-oit|avantagio]], [[m|roa-oit|avantaio]] and [[m|roa-oit|avantazio]] in different regions.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|avantage|t=advantage]], as the older form [[roa-oit|avvantaggio]] shows; the Italian word lost its first syllable.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) According to the LEI, quoted by DELI, the points of contact go back to the poetry of the Sicilian and Tuscan poets of the 13th century.^(DELI 1999) GRADIT dates the French word to 1160.^(GRADIT 2003) Wiktionary explains the loss of the initial vowel as a rebracketing of the article and noun.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The French noun is formed from [[m|fr|avant|t=before, in front]] and first meant “what is placed in front”;^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3987) DEI notes that this sense survived for the projecting front part of a ship.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3987) The adverb continues [[la-lat|abante|t=in front]], made of [[m|la|ab|t=from]] and [[m|la|ante|t=before]], which is also the source of Italian [[avanti]].^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907) The same French noun was borrowed as [[es|ventaja]] and [[pt|ventagem]], and Occitan has [[pro|avantatge]].^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907) [[la-med|avantagium]] is recorded at the papal court in 1364.^(DEI|3987) Devoto adds that the Italian form was influenced by [[vantare]] “to boast”.^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ A clipping of the word is [[aggio]], the premium charged by money-changers, which French and other languages borrowed as [[fr|agio]].^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is ''vantagio'' among the poets of the Sicilian School, in the sense of something that puts a person or thing in a better position than others;^(DELI 1999) ''vantaggio'' follows around 1300 in the ''Ammaestramenti degli antichi'' of Bartolomeo da San Concordio.^(DELI 1999) The TLIO records the fuller ''avvantaggio'' in a Pistoia document of 1259.^(TLIO) An anonymous poem calls it madness to serve someone from whom one gains only a “poor advantage” (''povero vantagio'').^(GDLI|21, 662)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the turn of the 14th century the word also meant profit or gain, as in the ''Fiore''.^(DELI 1999) Dante uses it for the lead gained over an opponent: the naked wrestlers in ''Inferno'' 16 watch for “their hold and their advantage”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|21, 662) The Old Italian ''avvantaggio'' also covered a privilege, an improvement and a surplus over a measure.^(TLIO) The Tuscan sense “something extra thrown in on the weight” survives regionally.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ Derivatives appeared early: Guittone d'Arezzo has the diminutive ''vantaggetto'', and Dante the verb ''avvantaggiare''.^(Prati 1951|1037)^(Nocentini 2010) The adjective ''vantaggioso'' is used of a person who seeks his own advantage by Benedetto Varchi (before 1565) and in the sense “profitable” from 1640.^(DELI 1999) The opposite ''svantaggio'' is from the 17th century.^(Nocentini 2010) In printing ''vantaggio'' became the name of the tray on which composed lines of type are set (1805).^(DELI 1999) Sports gave it the senses of a lead in time, distance or points, and in tennis the point won after deuce.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – The Sicilian School poets use ''vantagio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1259 – ''Avvantaggio'' is recorded in a Pistoia document.^(TLIO)

+ * c. 1300 – Bartolomeo da San Concordio uses ''vantaggio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses the word for a lead gained over an opponent.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1364 – Medieval Latin ''avantagium'' is recorded at the papal court.^(DEI|3987)

+ * Before 1565 – Benedetto Varchi uses ''vantaggioso''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1805 – The printing sense, a tray for composed type, is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|advantage]]: something that puts a person or thing in a better position than others: ''Parlare tre lingue è un bel vantaggio in questo lavoro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Profit, [[m|en|benefit]], gain: ''Da quell'accordo non ha tratto alcun vantaggio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Improvement, relief, for example from a treatment.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # A [[m|en|lead]] in time or distance over someone travelling the same route, especially in a race; in games, a lead in points: ''La squadra di casa è in vantaggio di due gol.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(sport)'' A handicap allowance given to weaker competitors at the start.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(tennis)'' The point won after deuce (''vantaggio alla battuta'', ''vantaggio alla rimessa'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(printing)'' A [[m|en|galley]], the tray with raised edges on which lines of type are placed as they are composed.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vantaggioso]]

+ * [[svantaggio]]

+ * [[svantaggioso]]

+ * [[svantaggiato]]

+ * [[avvantaggiare]]

+ * [[vantaggiare]]

+ * [[vantaggiosamente]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vanto]]

+ * [[aggio]]

+ * [[avanti]]

+ * [[fr|avantage]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''A vantaggio di'' means “in favour of, for the benefit of”, and in grammar the ''complemento di vantaggio'' is the phrase naming the person or thing an action benefits.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) In football the ''regola del vantaggio'' lets the referee play on after a foul when the fouled side keeps the ball.^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}