volto Italian · revision 39170

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1300–1313, Dante|origins=la vultus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈvol.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''volto''' ''m'' (plural volti)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ DELI and Nocentini treat it as a learned word, [[bor|la|vultus|t=expression; face]], also spelled [[m|la|voltus]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Meyer-Lübke lists it among the outcomes of the Latin word, beside [[fro|vout]] and [[pro|volt]], used especially of images of saints, and [[pt|vulto]] “figure, aspect”.^(REW 1935)^(Wiktionary) Tommaseo noted that the closed ⟨o⟩ of the Italian word recalls the Latin one.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ [[m|la|voltus|alt=Voltus]] was the standard Latin spelling until the 1st century AD, before the change of ⟨ol⟩ to ⟨ul⟩ before a consonant.^(Wiktionary) The word goes back to [[itc-pro|*woltus]] and is probably from [[ine-pro|*wel-tu-|t=gaze, view]], from the root [[ine-pro|*wel-|t=to see]], with the sense passing from “look” to “face”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) The root kept the meaning “see” in [[cy|gweld]] and [[sga|fil|t=there is]]; [[got|𐍅𐌿𐌻𐌸𐌿𐍃|tr=wulþus|t=glory]] is from the same root.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Nocentini compares [[viso]], from [[la|vīsus|t=sight]], which has the same motivation, and places the word in the family of [[m|la|volō|t=to want]], reached through the sense “set one's eyes on”.^(Nocentini 2010) DELI mentions the proposal of J. Vendryes (1921) that connects the word with this root “to see”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is Dante, 1300–1313, with the literary sense “face”.^(DELI 1999) Dante also uses it for the gaze: in the ''Paradiso'' a light shines ''sì che vincea 'l mio volto'' (“so that it overcame my sight”).^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In 1348–1353 Boccaccio uses ''volto'' figuratively for the outward appearance of something.^(DELI 1999) Tommaseo distinguished it from ''faccia'', the shape of the face, and, from ''viso'': ''volto'' was the face as it reflects the state of body and mind, which is why one says ''bel volto'' but not ''volto grossolano''.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The sense “character, true nature”, as in revealing someone's true face, is dated 1813.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ The word belongs to a higher register than ''viso'' and ''faccia''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) Recent phrases include ''volto nuovo'', a newcomer to the stage, film or television,^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) and ''socialismo dal volto umano'' (“socialism with a human face”), socialism that respects individual freedom.^(Treccani 2011)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses ''volto'' for “face”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for the outward appearance of a thing.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1813 – The sense “character, essence” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1861–1879 – Tommaseo distinguishes ''volto'', ''viso'' and ''faccia''.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(formal)'' [[m|en|face]]: ''Aveva il volto rigato di lacrime.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative)'' The true character or nature of a person or thing: ''Con quella lettera ha mostrato il suo vero volto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Outward [[m|en|appearance]], the way something presents itself: ''i tanti volti della città''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A person, especially as seen in a crowd or on the screen: ''In sala non c'era nessun volto noto.''^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(archaic, literary)'' Gaze, sight.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[viso]]

+ * [[faccia]]

+ * [[la|vultus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Two other words are spelled ''volto'', both with an open ''o'': the past participle of [[volgere]] “turned, facing”, also “aimed at” (''una legge volta a ridurre le tasse''),^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) and an obsolete or regional noun ''volto'' “vault, arch”, from the same participle, recorded in 1516 and used by Cellini;^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI)^(DIFIT) English borrowed the latter as ''volto'' before 1700.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}