stretto Italian · revision 39225

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1290, Guido delle Colonne (Italian translation)|origins=la stringō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈstret.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''stretto''' (feminine stretta, masculine plural stretti, feminine plural strette, superlative strettissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+ The Tuscan form ''strinto'' is recorded from the late 13th century and is still used in Tuscany.^(Nocentini 2010) Old texts also have ''strecto'', ''streto'' and ''strito''.^(GDLI|20, 341)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|strictus|t=tight, dense; strict]], the past participle of [[m|la|stringō|t=to bind fast, tighten]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) Nocentini explains Tuscan [[strinto]], [[sc|istrintu]] and [[ro|strâmt]] from [[la-vul|*strinctus]], with the /n/ of the present and perfect;^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3654)^(REW 1935) DEI adds the northern and Ladin forms.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3654)^(REW 1935) The same word is [[fr|étroit]], [[oc|estret]], [[ca|estret]], [[es|estrecho]] and [[pt|estreito]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The noun “strait” is the adjective used as a noun.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ De Vaan explains Latin [[m|la|stringō]] as the merger of the roots [[ine-pro|*strig-|t=to brush, strip]] and [[m|ine-pro|*strengʰ-|t=to draw, tie]].^(de Vaan 2008) The participle has the form of the first and the meaning of the second.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in the Italian translation of Guido delle Colonne, before 1290, for someone bound to others by friendship or kinship;^(DELI 1999) Bono Giamboni, before 1292, uses it for “very near” and “narrow”.^(DELI 1999) Nocentini dates the word to the early 13th century.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante uses the word for “pressed, held tight”, and around 1300 it also meant “strict, severe”.^(DELI 1999) Giovanni Villani, before 1348, used it as a noun for the strait of Gibraltar (''lo stretto di Sibilia''), but the noun became common only in the 16th century.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|20, 348)^(DEI|3654) In 1584 Salviati applied it to close vowels.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The music sense, the final part of a fugue with the entries close together, is recorded in 1757–1781, and passed into French in 1703 and into English in 1740 and 1854.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) More recent are ''dialetto stretto'' “broad dialect” (1916) and ''lo stretto necessario'' “the bare necessities” (1922).^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1290 – Guido delle Colonne's translation uses the word for “closely bound”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for “narrow”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it for “held tight”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1348 – Villani uses the noun for a strait.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1584 – Salviati uses it for close vowels.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1699 – ''Stretta di mano'' “handshake” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1703 – French borrows the music term.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1757–1781 – The music sense is recorded in Italian.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1922 – ''Lo stretto necessario'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|narrow]]: ''Il vicolo era così stretto che l'auto non passava.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # [[m|en|tight]], too small or close-fitting: ''Dopo le feste la gonna le stava stretta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Held or pressed firmly: ''Teneva stretta la mano della madre.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Very close to others: ''In metropolitana eravamo tutti stretti.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Close, intimate: ''parenti stretti'', ''un mio stretto collaboratore''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # [[m|en|strict]], rigorous: ''lutto stretto''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Of a dialect, pure, broad: ''Parla un napoletano stretto.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Placed before the noun, no more than: ''lo stretto necessario''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(phonetics)'' Of a vowel, close.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(geography)'' A [[m|en|strait]]: ''lo stretto di Messina''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(music)'' The [[m|en|stretto]] of a fugue.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(uncommon)'' A narrow passage.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stretta]]

+ * [[strettezza]]

+ * [[strettoia]]

+ * [[strettamente]]

+ * [[strettoio]]

+ * [[strettura]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stringere]]

+ * [[la|strictus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''A denti stretti'' means “grudgingly, with great effort”, and ''di manica stretta'' “strict, mean”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020) ''Caffè stretto'' is a strong, short coffee.^(Wiktionary) DEI also records a noun ''stretto'' for the wine pressed from the residue of the grapes (1625).^(DEI|3654)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}