Appendix:Italian terms inherited from Latin

In Italian, more than perhaps any other Romance language, it can be difficult to distinguish inherited vocabulary from words that were later borrowed from Latin due to its conservative phonology.

If you are not certain whether a given word was inherited from Latin or borrowed, then please avoid adding using either {{inh}} or {{bor}} and use {{der}} instead.

Several characteristics of Latin borrowings are identified below.

Phonological criteria

Retention of /i/ in unstressed /tiV/ sequences

In Latinisms, the /i/ survives in such sequences as /j/.

Latin	iūstitia	coctiōnem
It. bor.	giustizia	cozione
It. inh.	giustezza	cozzone

Retention of /rj/ in unstressed /riV/ sequences

In native (Tuscan) vocabulary, /r/ is regularly lost in this environment, while in words borrowed from other languages of Italy, it is rather the /j/ that is lost. In any case, the sequence /rj/, with both elements intact, is the sure sign of a Latinism.

Latin	varium	calidārium	cursōrium
It. bor.	vario	calidario	cursorio
It. inh.	vaio	caldaio	corsoio

Retention of intervocalic /b/

Virtually every Italian word that retains a single Latin /b/ between vowels is a borrowing.

Latin	tabula	plebem	cubāre
It. bor.	tabula	plebe	cubare
It. inh.	tavola	pieve	covare

Retention of /n l/ followed by unstressed /i/ or /e/ and another vowel

In native vocabulary, /n/ and /l/ usually palatalize in this environment. That is not the case for Latinisms in Standard Italian.

Latin	favōnius	sanguineus	Jūlius	tālea		Pronunciation
It. bor.	favonio	sanguineo	Giulio	talea		favɔnjo	sanɡineo	dʒuljo	talea
It. inh.	fogno	sanguigno	luglio	taglia		foɲɲo	sanɡiɲɲo	luʎʎo	taʎʎa/

Retention of /d/ followed by unstressed /i/ or /e/ and another vowel

In inherited words, /d/ palatalizes and affricates in this environment.

Latin	incendium	discordia	videō	lapidea
It. bor.	incendio	discordia	video	lapidea

Latin	hodiē	radium	frondea	hordeum
It. inh.	oggi	raggio	fronza	orzo

Retention of /l/ after a consonant

In inherited words, /l/ consistently palatalizes to /j/ in this environment.

Latin	duplus	exclūdere	flēbilis	glandem
It. (bor.)	duplo	escludere	flebile	glande
It. (inh.)	doppio	schiudere	fievole	ghianda

Retention of stressed /i u/

Borrowings consistently retain short Latin /i/ or /u/ in stressed position. In native vocabulary, the outcomes are usually /e/ and /o/.

Latin	dīvitia	singultus	exitium	lutum
It. bor.	divizia	singulto	esizio	luto

Latin	sitem	crista	mundus	fundat
It. inh.	sete	cresta	mondo	fonda

Caveat: native vocabulary may retain stressed /i u/ (or, more accurately, redevelop them) if followed by an original /nɡ/ or /nk/.

Latin	lingua	fungus	tinctum	punctum
It. inh.	lingua	fungo	tinto	punto

Likewise if /i/ was followed by an /l/ that palatalized:

Latin	milium	cilia	familia	consilium
It. inh.	miglio	ciglia	famiglia	consiglio

Retention of /e-/ before /ksC/

/e-/ was consistently eliminated in this environment in native vocabulary.

Latin	extensum	extincta	explicāre	expandere
It. bor.	esteso	estinta	esplicare	espandere
It. inh.	steso	stinta	spiegare	spandere

/ɛ ɔ/ for stressed Latin /ē ō/

Italian Ecclesiastical Latin has a five-vowel inventory with no distinction between short and long Latin vowels. Hence stressed Latin /e ē/ are both rendered as /ɛ/ in borrowings, while stressed Latin /o ō/ are both rendered as /ɔ/ (unless the word has a recognizable Italian ending with /o/, such as -ore or -one). Inherited vocabulary, on the other hand, shows a distinct outcome for each Latin mid-vowel, although this is not always reliable.

Latin	cēdere	ego	nocuus	pōculum
It. bor.	/ˈtʃɛdere/	/ˈɛɡo/	/ˈnɔkwo/	/ˈpɔkulo/

Latin	rēgnum	pertica	cocta	pōnere
It. inh.	/ˈreɲɲo/	/'pɛrtika/	/ˈkɔtta	/ˈporre/

Other considerations

Semantics and usage

The more poetic, rare, or abstract a word is, the more likely it is to be a borrowing. No phonological criteria could tell one, for instance, whether the word radicale was inherited from Latin rādīcālem or borrowed, but it is clearly the latter, judging by the abstract nature of its meanings, all removed from mundane day-to-day life. That it is also effectively a modern Wanderwort reinforces that conclusion (cf. Finnish radikaali, Turkish radikal, Indonesian radikal).

For cases such as noverca (from Latin noverca), which has the unremarkable meaning of 'stepmother', one has to rely on non-semantic criteria. First, it is literary and rarely used in everyday speech. A search on Google serves to confirm this: mia noverca pulls up a mere 61 results, compared to 742,000 for mia matrigna. Next, as indicated in the FEW entry, the word was rare in medieval Italian as well, where it was limited to legal jargon or poetry. Third, a look at other Romance languages, per the same source, shows that only in Aromanian does noverca survive as a clearly inherited everyday word (nuearcã). On these grounds, Italian noverca is most likely a borrowing, and similar reasoning can be applied in other difficult cases.

Etymological dictionaries

Sapere and, somewhat less reliably, Treccani indicate latinisms with 'dal lat.' (examples: 1, 2).

For those who can read German, it is always worth looking up the French cognate of a given Italian word in the FEW (Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch) and checking the end of the entry for commentary on the latter.

See also

• Appendix:French terms inherited from Latin