vicenda Italian · revision 39300

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1243|origins=la vicis}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /viˈt͡ʃɛn.da/^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Forms==

+ '''vicenda''' ''f'' (plural vicende)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include ''vixenda'' and ''vizenda''.^(GDLI|21, 848) Old Sicilian has ''vichenda'' (1348).^(DEI|4047)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It continues [[inh|la-vul|*vicenda]], a neuter plural used as a noun: the gerundive of a verb [[m|la-vul|*vicō|alt=*vicere]] formed from [[la|vicis|t=change, turn, alternation]], the word that gave [[vece]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto 1968) In Devoto's explanation it first meant “the things destined to follow one another in turn”, then, understood as a feminine singular, “the whole of things that follow one another”.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto 1968) [[la-med|vicenda]] meant land cultivated in rotation at Farfa in 956.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|4047)

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+ Northern Italian has the word in the sense “business”, as in Old Lombard [[m|lmo|vezenda]] and Modenese and Romagnol forms.^(REW 1935)^(DEI|4047)

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+ The Latin noun goes back to [[itc-pro|*wik-|t=turn]], a root De Vaan connects with [[m|la|vinciō|t=to tie]];^(de Vaan 2008) Wiktionary relates it to [[de|Wechsel|t=change]] and [[en|week]].^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Zingarelli dates the word to before 1243, and Nocentini to the first half of the 13th century.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Nocentini 2010) Thirteenth-century records include the letter-writing manual of Guido Faba, which speaks of one's own affairs (''vixende''), and the translation of Albertano, where it means “requital”.^(GDLI|21, 848)^(DEI|4047) DELI's first certain example is Giovanni Villani, before 1348, for a series of events that follow one another;^(DELI 1999) Dante's use is unclear.^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian used the word for a turn, a duty that falls to each in turn (Dante's ''chi vicenda consegue''), for a requital, and in Boccaccio for a piece of business: ''io vo infino a città per alcuna mia vicenda''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) These senses are now archaic.^(Devoto–Oli 2026) From the alternation of things came ''a vicenda'', “in turn, mutually”, and the derivative ''vicendevole'' (1341–1342, Boccaccio).^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

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+ In agriculture the word means crop rotation (1871–1892), as in ''risaia in vicenda''.^(DELI 1999)^(Treccani 2011) The modern main sense, an event or chain of events in someone's life, and the plot of a story, is recorded from 1807 in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 956 – Medieval Latin ''vicenda'' “land under rotation” is recorded at Farfa.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1243 – Zingarelli's date for the first record.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ * Before 1311 – The verb ''avvicendare'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1341–1342 – Boccaccio uses ''vicendevole''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses ''vicenda'' for a succession of events.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1807 – The sense “event, affair” appears in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|event]], an [[m|en|affair]], or a series of events in the life of a person or a people: ''La vicenda si è conclusa con un processo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The plot or story of a novel, play or film.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(uncommon)'' [[m|en|alternation]], the succession of things that take turns, as the seasons.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(agriculture)'' [[m|en|crop rotation]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A turn, what falls to each in turn; a requital; a piece of business.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

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+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vicendevole]]

+ * [[avvicendare]]

+ * [[avvicendamento]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vece]]

+ * [[vicissitudine]]

+ * [[la|vicis]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''A vicenda'' means “each other, mutually” (''si aiutano a vicenda'') or “in turn” (''guidare a vicenda'').^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010) ''Alterne vicende'' are ups and downs.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}