armato Italian · revision 39201

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=early 13th century, Ritmo su Sant'Alessio|origins=la arma}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /arˈma.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''armato''' (feminine armata, masculine plural armati, feminine plural armate)^(Wiktionary)

+ Forms recorded before 1375 include [[roa-oit|armatu]], [[m|roa-oit|armado]] and [[m|roa-oit|armà]].^(TLIO) Dialect forms are [[lij|armôu]] at Genoa, [[lmo|armàa]] at Milan, and [[vec|armà]] in Venice and Piedmont.^(LEI|3, 1280)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|armātus|t=armed]], the past participle of [[m|la|armō|t=to arm]], from [[m|la|arma|t=weapons]].^(LEI|3, 1280)^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012) The modern dictionaries treat it as the past participle of Italian [[armare]], and DELI lists it under [[arma]].^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The Latin participle continues in the other Romance languages too: [[fro|armaz]] (in a 10th-century poem on the Passion), [[fr|armé]], [[pro|armads]], [[ca|armat]], and [[es|armado]] and [[pt|armado]].^(LEI|3, 1280) Latin already used the participle as a noun, “an armed man, soldier”, mostly in the plural, and this too continued in Old French and Old Occitan.^(LEI|3, 1280)^(OLD 2012) The sense “provided, furnished” is a medieval development, connected with the Medieval Latin verb [[m|la-med|armō|alt=armare|t=to apply, to furnish]].^(LEI|3, 1280)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is the form ''armatu'' in the ''Ritmo su Sant'Alessio'' of the early 13th century, and ''armato'' in the ''Novellino'' at the end of the century, meaning “provided with weapons”.^(DELI 1999) The LEI has an Old Pisan ''armato'' in a bestiary of the early 13th century and an Old Sienese one in 1253.^(LEI|3, 1280) The TLIO's first record is a Lombard text of the mid-13th century.^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian used the word of armed men, of ships fitted out for war, of a weapon loaded and ready to fire, of a fishing or fowling net set to catch its prey, of fortified places, and of animals equipped by nature with means of attack or defence; as a noun it meant a soldier.^(TLIO) Dante's “Cesare armato con li occhi grifagni” (“Caesar in arms, with hawk's eyes”, ''Inferno'' 4.123) is among the GDLI's quotations.^(GDLI|1, 666)

+

+ Figurative use, “provided with” a quality (patience, good will), is old and still current.^(GRADIT 2003)^(TLIO) Technical senses came later: reinforced building materials such as ''cemento armato'' “reinforced concrete” and ''vetro armato'' “wired glass”, and cables protected by a sheath.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) In zoology the word is used of animals bearing spines, scales or hooks, and in heraldry of animals whose claws or teeth are of another tincture.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) Political phrases include ''lotta armata'' “armed struggle”, ''forze armate'' “armed forces” and ''pace armata'' “armed peace”.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GDLI|Suppl. 2009)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 13th century – ''Armatu'' appears in the ''Ritmo su Sant'Alessio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1253 – An Old Sienese text has ''armato''.^(LEI|3, 1280)

+ * Late 13th century – The ''Novellino'' has ''armato''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300s – Dante describes “Cesare armato” in the ''Inferno''.^(GDLI|1, 666)

+ * 1619 – ''Armato'' is recorded of a fencer protected by armour.^(LEI|3, 1280)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|armed]], carrying weapons: ''Due uomini armati sono entrati nella banca.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Done with weapons: ''un conflitto armato'', ''a mano armata'' (at gunpoint).^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Provided, equipped with something: ''armato di pazienza''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(technical)'' [[m|en|reinforced]] or protected by a frame or sheath: ''cemento armato'' (reinforced concrete), ''cavo armato'' (armoured cable).^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(zoology)'' Of an animal or organ, bearing spines, scales, hooks or similar means of defence or attack.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(heraldry)'' Of an animal, having claws or tusks of a different tincture from its body.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An armed man, a [[m|en|soldier]], mostly in the plural: ''gli armati''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[armata]]

+ * [[armatamente]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[arma]]

+ * [[armare]]

+ * [[armadillo]]

+ * [[la|armātus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Fixed expressions include ''armato fino ai denti'' “armed to the teeth” and ''carro armato'' “tank”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}