Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
guasto. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
guasto, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
guasto in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
guasto you have here. The definition of the word
guasto will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
guasto, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɡwa.sto/
- Rhymes: -asto
- Hyphenation: guà‧sto
Etymology 1
From the short past participle of guastare (“to ruin”) in Tuscan; compare the Standard Italian participle guastato.[1] Cognate with Piedmontese guast.
Adjective
guasto (feminine guasta, masculine plural guasti, feminine plural guaste)
- (obsolete) devastated, ruined, ravaged
- Synonyms: devastato, rovinato
1300s–1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XIV”, in Inferno [Hell], lines 94–96; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate], 2nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:«In mezzo mar siede un paese guasto».
diss’elli allora, «che s’appella Creta,
sotto ’l cui rege fu già ’l mondo casto.- "In the middle of the sea lies a ruined country", he then said, "which is named Crete, under whose king the world was once innocent."
1349–1353, Giovanni Boccaccio, “Giornata settima – Novella terza”, in Decameron; republished as Aldo Francesco Massera, editor, Il Decameron, Bari: Laterza, 1927:Ma che dico io di frate Rinaldo nostro di cui parliamo? Quali son quegli che cosí non facciano? Ahi vitupèro del guasto mondo!- But what am I saying about our friar Rinaldo, about whom we're talking? Who are the ones who don't act thusly? Alas, dishonor of the ruined world!
- broken, out of order (of mechanisms, devices etc.)
- Synonym: rotto
- spoilt, rotten, gone bad (of food)
- Synonyms: marcio, andato a male
- damaged, ruined (of organs or body parts)
- Synonyms: sciupato, danneggiato
- (spiritually or morally) corrupt
Participle
guasto (feminine guasta, masculine plural guasti, feminine plural guaste)
- (Tuscan) Synonym of guastato, past participle of guastare
1300s–1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XXXIII”, in Inferno [Hell], lines 1–3; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate], 2nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:La bocca sollevò dal fiero pasto
quel peccator, forbendola a’ capelli
del capo ch’elli avea di retro guasto.- The sinner raised his mouth from the horrible meal, cleaning it from the hair of the head that he had damaged from behind.
- (obsolete) broken, violated, infringed
- Synonyms: infranto, rotto, violato
1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto I”, in Purgatorio [Purgatory], lines 76–77; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate], 2nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:Non son li editti eterni per noi guasti,
ché questi vive e Minòs me non lega- The eternal laws are not broken by us, for he is alive, and Minos does not bind me
Etymology 2
Deverbal from guastare + -o.
Noun
guasto m (plural guasti)
- (obsolete or literary) devastation, ruin
- Synonyms: devastazione, rovina
1348, Giovanni Villani, “Come il detto Arrigo imperadore assediò la città di Firenze. [How the aforementioned emperor Henry besieged the city of Florence]” (chapter 23), Libro quinto [Fifth book], in Nuova Cronica [New Chronicle], published 1991:Negli anni di Cristo MLXXX […] Arrigo imperadore […] si puose ad oste alla città di Firenze […] e fece gran guasto a la detta città- In the years 1080 of Christ, emperor Henry waged war against the city of Florence, and brought great devastation to the aforementioned city
- damage
- Synonym: danno
- breakdown, failure, fault
- Synonym: problema
- Il guasto è nel motore. ― The fault is in the engine.
Etymology 3
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
guasto
- first-person singular present indicative of guastare
References
Further reading
- guasto1 in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
- guasto2 in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
- Ledgeway, Adam. 2016. Italian, Tuscan, and Corsican. In Ledgeway, Adam & Maiden, Martin (eds.), The Oxford guide to the Romance languages, 206–227. Oxford: OUP.