ostaggio Italian · revision 39331

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=second half of the 13th century|origins=la hospes}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /osˈtad.d͡ʒo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ostaggio''' ''m'' (plural ostaggi)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[m|roa-oit|ostagio]], [[m|roa-oit|obstagio]] and Lodigiano [[m|roa-oit|ostazo]], and an older ''staggio'' is recorded.^(GDLI)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DEI|2697)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a Gallicism of the early centuries, [[bor|fro|ostage]] (1080; modern [[m|fr|otage]]).^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) The French word is a derivative of [[fro|oste|t=host, guest]], from [[la|hospes|t=host; guest]], through Medieval Latin [[m|la-med|hospitaticum]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Körting 1907)^(Treccani 2011) Its first meaning, like that of [[pro|ostatge]], was “lodging”: in phrases meaning “to take into lodging” the hostages were in fact lodged in the house of the lord who had demanded them, and the word passed from the stay to the persons.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|2697) The same French word gave [[en|hostage]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|2697)

+

+ The older explanation, from Diez, derived the word from Vulgar Latin [[m|la-vul|*obsidāticum]], from [[la|obses|t=hostage]];^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Devoto 1968)^(Körting 1907) DELI follows Tobler (1879) in rejecting it, but Devoto–Oli still gives it, and Devoto saw a blend of the two.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Devoto 1968)^(Körting 1907) The Medieval Latin of Bologna has [[m|la-med|hostadigus]] (1248), matching the old word [[ostatico]].^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The Latin noun is a compound of [[m|la|hostis|t=stranger, enemy]] and the root of [[m|la|potis|t=able]], from [[ine-pro|*gʰóstipotis|t=master of guests]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ GRADIT and Nocentini date the word to the second half of the 13th century, in the form ''ostagio''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010) Uguccione da Lodi has ''ostaço'' at the beginning of the 14th century, and the Tuscan translation of Livy uses ''ostaggio'' for a person handed over as a pledge to an enemy or ally.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ For centuries the word belonged to war and diplomacy: a person, often of rank, given or taken as a guarantee that a treaty or condition would be kept.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) International law allowed the taking of hostages within limits until the Geneva Convention of 1949 banned it.^(GDLI) Already in the 19th century Tommaseo noted that brigands had learned to take hostages for ransom, and the modern sense of a person seized by criminals or terrorists is recorded from 1958.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1080 – Old French ''ostage'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1248 – Medieval Latin ''hostadigus'' is recorded at Bologna.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Second half of the 13th century – ''Ostagio'' is recorded in Italian.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Early 14th century – Uguccione da Lodi uses ''ostaço''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1958 – The sense “person seized by criminals” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|hostage]] held by an enemy as a guarantee that conditions will be met or agreements kept, under threat of reprisal: ''Gli eserciti si scambiarono gli ostaggi.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person seized by criminals or terrorists to obtain a ransom, an escape or other demands: ''I rapinatori hanno liberato l'ostaggio dopo tre ore.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ospite]]

+ * [[oste]]

+ * [[la|hospes]]

+ * [[en|hostage]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The usual phrases are ''prendere in ostaggio'' and ''tenere in ostaggio'', also figuratively of a city or a country held to ransom.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}