salto Italian · revision 39184

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1294, Brunetto Latini|origins=la salio}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈsal.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''salto''' ''m'' (plural salti)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|saltus|t=a jump, leap]], through its accusative.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin noun was formed from [[m|la|saliō|t=to jump]] with the suffix of action nouns [[m|la|-tus]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) DELI treats it together with the verb [[saltare]], from [[m|la|saltō|t=to dance, jump]], a frequentative of the same verb.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The same word is [[ro|salt]], [[fr|saut]], [[pro|saut]], [[ca|salt]], [[es|salto]], [[pt|salto]] and [[sc|saltu]].^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first dated sense, before 1294 in Brunetto Latini, is figurative: a quick passage from one point to another, a gap or an omission.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The bodily sense of a jump, the movement by which the body leaves the ground, is first dated about 1336 in Boccaccio.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Before 1321 Dante uses ''salto'' for a dance, a sense now obsolete.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) In the ''Decameron'' a man ''prese un salto'' (“took a leap”) over a tomb to escape his tormentors.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The athletic sense, the series of movements that carry the body off the ground and back to it, is first dated before 1612 in Giovanni de' Bardi,^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) and the specialities followed: ''salto in alto'' (high jump), ''salto in lungo'' (long jump), ''salto con l'asta'' (pole vault) and ''salto mortale'', a somersault in the air, recorded by DEI in the 16th century.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DEI|3324)

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+ Before 1638 Gabriello Chiabrera uses the word for a short trip or a brief visit, the sense of the modern ''fare un salto'' “to pop over”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) A sudden drop in level, as of a waterfall, is recorded in 1875.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) In music a ''salto'' is a leap between two notes that are not next to each other.^(DIFIT)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Many figurative phrases grew up around the word, such as ''salto nel buio'' (a leap in the dark), ''salto di qualità'' (a step up) and ''fare i salti mortali'' (to bend over backwards).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

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+ French borrowed the musical sense in 1703 and the athletic one in 1971,^(DIFIT) German has ''Salto'' for a somersault since 1813,^(DIFIT) and English took ''salto'' as a gymnastics term in 1972.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''salto'' for a quick passage or a gap.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it for a dance.^(DELI 1999)

+ * About 1336 – Boccaccio uses it for a jump.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 16th century – ''Salto mortale'', a somersault in the air, is recorded.^(DEI|3324)

+ * Before 1612 – Giovanni de' Bardi uses it for the athletic jump.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+ * Before 1638 – Chiabrera uses it for a quick trip or short visit.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1703 – French borrows ''salto'' as a musical term.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1813 – German ''Salto'' “somersault” is first recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1875 – The sense of a sudden drop in level is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1972 – English ''salto'' is first recorded as a gymnastics term.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|jump]] or [[m|en|leap]]: the movement by which a person or animal pushes off the ground and lands in the same place or elsewhere: ''Il gatto è arrivato sul tavolo con un salto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A bounce of an object.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # A quick trip somewhere, or a short visit: ''Domani faccio un salto in centro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(sport)'' A jumping event in athletics, skiing or riding: ''salto in alto'', ''salto in lungo'', ''salto con l'asta''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A sudden change, upwards or downwards, in a situation or a quantity: ''un salto nei consumi''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A drop in level, as of a waterfall; in music, an [[m|en|interval]] between two notes that are not next to each other.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A gap or an omission in a text or a sequence.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' A dance.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[saltello]]

+ * [[salterello]]

+ * [[saltuario]]

+ * [[soprassalto]]

+ * [[saltellare]]

+ * [[risalto]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[saltare]]

+ * [[salire]]

+ * [[la|saltus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Fare due salti'' or ''quattro salti'' is a colloquial way of saying “to have a little dance” among friends.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) Two rare homographs are listed separately: ''salto'' “wooded mountain pasture”, from [[la|saltus|t=wooded pass, forest pasture]] (Dante: ''esser non puote / che per diversi salti non si spanda''), whose Latin origin is uncertain,^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(DEI|3324) and ''salto'' “assault”, a shortened form of [[assalto]], used by Machiavelli.^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}