coperta Italian · revision 39310

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1230–1250, Giacomo da Lentini|origins=la cooperiō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /koˈpɛr.ta/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''coperta''' ''f'' (plural coperte)^(Wiktionary)

+ The old form, still archaic and northern regional, is [[m|roa-oit|coverta]].^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the feminine of [[coperto|t=covered]], the past participle of [[coprire]], used as a noun.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) The verb continues [[la|cooperiō|t=to cover completely]], and Wikizionario derives the noun directly from its participle [[m|la|coopertus]].^(Wikizionario)^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is Giacomo da Lentini, of the Sicilian school, around 1230–1250.^(TLIO) In DELI the first sense is figurative, “pretence, appearance, pretext”, also dated before 1250 in Giacomo.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the concrete sense of a cloth that covers something the word is recorded as ''coverta'' before 1292 in Bono Giamboni, and as ''coperta'' in 1483.^(DELI 1999) The bed cover, today the main sense, is first clearly attested in Vespasiano da Bisticci, before 1498.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|3, 742) The TLIO shows how wide the Old Italian word was: a roof or ceiling, a skin, the cloth or wooden cover over a boat.^(TLIO)

+

+ In ships the word came to mean the deck: ''coverta'' in the Italian Marco Polo early in the 14th century, ''coperta'' in Bandello in 1554, with the phrases ''sopra coperta'' and ''sotto coperta''.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010) The cover of a book is recorded from 1322, and a jumping sheet used by firemen from 1973.^(DELI 1999) In pottery the word names a glaze for porcelain, which English borrowed in 1885;^(DIFIT)^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) German calqued the naval sense as ''verdöck'' in the 1580s, and Polish took the word as ''koperta'', “envelope”, an old Italian sense.^(DIFIT)^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1230–1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses the word for a pretext.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''coverta'' for a cloth cover.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1322 – The Pisan ''Breve dell'Ordine del Mare'' uses ''coverta'' for a book cover.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Early 14th century – The Italian Marco Polo uses ''coverta'' for a ship's deck.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1498 – Vespasiano da Bisticci uses it for a bed cover.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1554 – Bandello uses ''coperta'' for a deck.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+ * 1885 – English ''coperta'', a porcelain glaze, is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|blanket]], especially the one spread over the sheets of a bed: ''Mi serve un'altra coperta, stanotte fa freddo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A cloth or cover put over furniture or instruments to protect them from dust.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(nautical)'' The upper deck of a ship, from bow to stern: ''salire in coperta''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A cover for wrongdoing, or a pretext: ''fare da coperta a qualcuno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The board cover of a bound book.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(archaic)'' An envelope.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[copertina]]

+ * [[copertone]]

+ * [[controcoperta]]

+ * [[retrocoperta]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[coperto]]

+ * [[coprire]]

+ * [[copertura]]

+ * [[la|cooperio]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Stare sotto le coperte'' means to stay in bed, and ''sotto coperta'' below deck.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) The diminutive ''copertina'' is the usual word for the cover of a book or magazine.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}