corretto Italian · revision 39315

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=late 13th century, Chiaro Davanzati|origins=la regō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /korˈrɛt.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''corretto''' (feminine corretta, masculine plural corretti, feminine plural corrette)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|correctus|t=corrected, reformed]], the past participle of [[m|la|corrigō|t=to straighten, correct]], and serves as the past participle of [[correggere]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(DEI|1122) The Latin verb is a compound of [[m|la|con-]] and [[m|la|regō|t=to guide, rule]].^(DEI|1122)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Devoto explains the Italian form as the Latin participle crossed with Italian [[reggere]].^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ [[fr|correct]] is recorded from 1512.^(DEI|1122)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the Florentine poet Chiaro Davanzati, in the second half of the 13th century.^(TLIO) DELI's first record of the adjective, “free of errors”, is Dante's ''Convivio'' (1304–1308), which speaks of a wrong opinion ''non gastigata e corretta'', “not punished and corrected”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|3)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian the word meant “amended, purged of errors” of a text or a law, “exact, regular”, and of a person “virtuous, honest”; as a noun it named someone who had been corrected or had repented.^(TLIO) Its use for good manners, “conforming to the rules of civil life”, is recorded only before 1874, in Tommaseo.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ A drink is ''corretto'' when something has been added to it: Boerio's Venetian dictionary of 1829 has ''acqua corèta'', and Antonio Gramsci uses the word in 1931.^(DELI 1999) ''Caffè corretto'', coffee with a dash of spirits, is the best-known use, and ''un corretto'' is short for it.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary) ''Politicamente corretto'' translates English ''politically correct'', after the American movement of the late 1980s.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GDLI|Supplemento 2009)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Second half of the 13th century – Chiaro Davanzati uses the word.^(TLIO)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses it in the ''Convivio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1512 – French ''correct'' is recorded.^(DEI|1122)

+ * 1829 – Boerio records Venetian ''acqua corèta'', water with something added.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1931 – Gramsci uses ''corretto'' of a drink with something added.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1874 – Tommaseo uses it for “conforming to good manners”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Free of [[m|en|error|alt=errors]] or defects; [[m|en|correct]], exact: ''La tua traduzione è quasi del tutto corretta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # In keeping with the facts; valid: ''un'analisi corretta della situazione''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # In keeping with good manners and morals; of a person, fair, [[m|en|honest]]: ''È sempre stato corretto con i suoi clienti.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(sports)'' Of a player, keeping to the rules of the game.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Of a drink, with something added, especially a little spirits: ''caffè corretto''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Short for ''caffè corretto'', coffee with a dash of spirits.^(Wiktionary)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[correttezza]]

+ * [[correttamente]]

+ * [[scorretto]]

+ * [[incorretto]]

+ * [[ipercorretto]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[correggere]]

+ * [[correzione]]

+ * [[correttore]]

+ * [[retto]]

+ * [[la|correctus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ DEI records an unrelated Old Italian ''corrotto'' or ''corretto'' meaning “mourning, grief”, from Latin ''corruptum'' (compare Old French ''corrot''), recorded from the 13th century.^(DEI|1124)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}