corda Italian · revision 39215

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1279, Florentine document|origins=grc χορδή}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈkɔr.da/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''corda''' ''f'' (plural corde)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|chorda|t=gut; string of an instrument; rope]], also written [[m|la|corda]], a Latin borrowing of [[grc|χορδή|tr=khordḗ|t=guts; string of gut]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin word first meant the string of a musical instrument; the ordinary word for “rope” was [[la|fūnis]], the source of [[fune]].^(DELI 1999) DEI finds the general sense of rope already in Plautus.^(DEI|1104)

+

+ The LEI gives the original Latin sense as the gut of an animal, also tripe or a gut sausage, recorded once in Petronius; it survives only in some Italian dialect derivatives, in Logudorese [[m|sc|corda|alt=kǫ́rda]], a dish of sheep's or goat's guts roasted in the embers, and in [[es|cordilla]] (1729).^(LEI|13, 1494) The sense “string of an instrument”, from strings made of gut, spread to all the Romance languages, with that of “rope”.^(LEI|13, 1494) The word is [[fr|corde]], [[oc|corda]], [[ca|corda]], [[es|cuerda]], [[pt|corda]] and [[ro|coardă]], which in Romanian also means “beam”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) The DÉRom reconstructs a Proto-Romance feminine noun with the senses gut, bowstring, string of an instrument, rope and tendon, found in every branch except Ladin.^(DÉRom)

+

+ Nocentini traces the Greek word to [[ine-pro|*gher-|t=entrails]], the root of Latin [[m|la|haruspex|t=diviner who inspects entrails]].^(Nocentini 2010) Isidore of Seville derived the word from [[la|cor|t=heart]], because the string throbs on the lyre as the heart in the breast, an etymology the GDLI calls erroneous.^(GDLI|3, 767)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is a Florentine document of 1279.^(TLIO) DELI's first record for the rope is the ''Fiore'' (1280–1310), where doves are tied to a chariot ''a corde di fil d'or'' “with cords of gold thread”, and for the string of an instrument the 13th-century poet Tommaso da Faenza.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|3, 767)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already used the word for ornamental cords, ships' rigging, the hangman's rope and the cord of a friar's habit, a plumb line, a bowstring, a measure of length, the string of an instrument and the chord of an arc.^(TLIO)^(DEI|1104) The bowstring is in Dante, the tightrope of acrobats in Andrea da Barberino (before 1431), and the sense “tendon, sinew” in the Italian Guy de Chauliac (1480–1493); ''corda vocale'' is recorded in 1828.^(DELI 1999) From the 13th to the 18th century ''la corda'' was also the strappado, the torture of hanging a man by his wrists tied behind his back.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Many phrases come from these uses.^(DELI 1999) ''Dar corda a qualcuno'' “to encourage someone, let them talk” is from tethering animals so that they do not stray, ''tenere sulla corda'' “to keep in suspense” probably from the strappado, ''tagliare la corda'' “to clear off” probably from sailors cutting the cable of the anchor, ''mostrare la corda'' “to be threadbare” from worn ribbed cloth, and ''mettere alle corde'' “to corner” from the ropes of the boxing ring.^(DELI 1999) DELI connects ''essere giù di corda'' “to be low” with winding the weights of old wall clocks rather than with the liturgical ''sursum corda''.^(DELI 1999) In mountaineering the word is recorded in 1886 (Giuseppe Giacosa), and ''cordata'' “roped party” (1919) is French ''cordée''.^(DELI 1999) French borrowed Italian ''corda'' as a musical term in 1703, and German in 1732.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1279 – ''Corda'' appears in a Florentine document.^(TLIO)

+ * 1280–1310 – The ''Fiore'' uses it for a rope.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 13th century – Tommaso da Faenza uses it for the string of an instrument.^(DELI 1999)

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

+ * Before 1431 – Andrea da Barberino uses it for a tightrope.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1480–1493 – It is used for a tendon in the Italian Guy de Chauliac.^(DELI 1999)

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

+ * 1828 – ''Corda vocale'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1886 – Giacosa uses it for a climbing rope.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1919 – Piero Jahier uses ''cordata''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|rope]], [[m|en|cord]]: twisted strands used for tying, lifting or pulling: ''Lega la barca con una corda robusta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(sports)'' A climbing rope; in boxing and wrestling, one of the ropes round the ring: ''mettere alle corde''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A skipping rope: ''saltare la corda''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(music)'' A [[m|en|string]] of an instrument; in the plural, the stringed instruments: ''una chitarra a dodici corde''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A feeling, a sensitive point: ''toccare la corda giusta''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(geometry)'' A [[m|en|chord]], the segment joining the ends of an arc.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' A tendon or cord, ''corde vocali'': the vocal cords.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(sports)'' In athletics and cycling, the inside edge of the track.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(history)'' The strappado, a torture with a rope.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A builder's [[m|en|plumb line]]; the chain holding the weights of a wall clock.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cordaio]]

+ * [[cordame]]

+ * [[cordata]]

+ * [[cordella]]

+ * [[cordellina]]

+ * [[corderia]]

+ * [[cordicella]]

+ * [[cordiera]]

+ * [[cordiglio]]

+ * [[cordino]]

+ * [[cordite]]

+ * [[cordofono]]

+ * [[cordone]]

+ * [[capocorda]]

+ * [[incordare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cordatrice]]

+ * [[cordatura]]

+ * [[fune]]

+ * [[cavo#2]]

+ * [[la|chorda]]

+ * [[fr|corde]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Fixed phrases include ''tagliare la corda'' “to slip away”, ''tirare troppo la corda'' “to push one's luck”, ''essere giù di corda'' “to be in low spirits”, ''avere la corda al collo'' “to be in a desperate position” and the proverb ''non parlare di corda in casa dell'impiccato'' “don't mention rope in the hanged man's house”, which may come from a German proverb.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(DELI 1999) In naval language every rope is a ''cavo'', except the bell rope.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}