furto Italian · revision 39175

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1219, Montieri document|origins=la furtum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈfur.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''furto''' ''m'' (plural furti)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian forms include [[m|roa-oit|furtu]], [[m|roa-oit|furt]] and [[m|roa-oit|fruto]].^(TLIO) DEI records [[m|lij|fruto]] in Old Genoese and [[m|nap|fulto]] in Old Neapolitan.^(DEI|1738)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|furtum|alt=fūrtum|t=theft; stolen goods]], derived from [[m|la|fūr|t=thief]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) DELI and GRADIT explain the Latin noun as the past participle of an unrecorded verb ⟨*fūrere⟩ “to steal”, and Wiktionary likewise describes it as formed as if on a real verb.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto 1968)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan doubts that the noun can be derived directly from the word for thief, and follows Forssman, who reconstructs it with a short vowel as the zero grade of the same root.^(de Vaan 2008) The learned [[furtivo]] comes from Latin [[m|la|furtīvus]], and [[refurtiva]] from the phrase ⟨res furtīva⟩ “thing from a theft”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The word is pan-Romance: [[fro|furt]], [[pro|furt]], [[ca|furt]], [[es|hurto]], [[pt|furto]], [[sc|furtu]] and [[ro|furt]], with verbs such as [[m|pro|furtar]], [[m|es|hurtar]] and [[m|pt|furtar]] “to steal”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|1738)

+

+ The Latin word for thief cannot be separated from [[grc|φώρ|tr=phṓr|t=thief]], which Nocentini connects with [[m|grc|φέρω|tr=phérō|t=to carry (off)]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008) Its unexpected ⟨ū⟩ led some scholars to assume a borrowing from Greek, perhaps through Etruscan;^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008) Nocentini and de Vaan prefer an inherited word, since Latin changed ⟨-ōr⟩ to ⟨-ūr⟩ around 200 BC, and de Vaan reconstructs [[ine-pro|*bʰōr|t=thief]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is a document from Montieri, near Siena, of 1219, where ''furto'' means the stolen goods.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The sense “the taking of someone else's property” is in Bono Giamboni before 1292.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian used ''furto'' for the act of stealing, for kidnapping, for any scheme to obtain money dishonestly, and for the stolen object itself; the phrases ''a furto'' and ''di furto'' meant “by stealth”.^(TLIO) Following Latin ''furtum'', the word could also mean a secret or adulterous love affair, which poets called ''furti d'amore''.^(TLIO)^(GDLI) The adjective ''furtivo'' meant “stolen” in Matteo Villani, before 1363, and “secret, done by stealth” already in Domenico Cavalca, before 1342.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ In modern law ''furto'' is the taking of movable property from its holder for profit, without violence against the person, distinct from [[rapina]].^(GDLI)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Everyday Italian also uses the word for a price that is far too high and for passing off someone else's ideas as one's own, and medicine for the diversion of blood flow from its normal course, as in ''furto della succlavia''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1219 – A document from Montieri uses ''furto'' for stolen goods.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''furto'' for the act of stealing.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses ''furtivo'' “secret”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1363 – Matteo Villani uses ''furtivo'' “stolen”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1895 – ''Refurtiva'' “stolen goods” is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|theft]]: the taking of something that belongs to someone else; the thing stolen: ''Hanno denunciato il furto della bicicletta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(by extension)'' A price or fee far higher than the thing is worth: ''Quaranta euro per una pizza? È un furto!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # [[m|en|plagiarism]], presenting someone else's ideas or work as one's own.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(medicine)'' A [[m|en|steal]]: the diversion of blood flow from its normal course.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[furtivo]]

+ * [[refurtiva]]

+ * [[antifurto]]

+ * [[furtarello]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[furare]]

+ * [[furo]]

+ * [[ladro]]

+ * [[la|fūr]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Legal and common phrases include ''furto con scasso'' (burglary, theft by breaking in), ''furto con destrezza'' (pickpocketing), ''furto d'uso'' (taking something only to use it briefly and return it) and ''furto d'identità'' (identity theft).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}