guasto

See also: guastò

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. Cognate with Piedmontese guast.

Adjective

guasto (feminine guasta, masculine plural guasti, feminine plural guaste)

1. (obsolete) devastated, ruined, ravaged

   Synonyms: devastato, rovinato

   • 1300s–1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XIV”, in Inferno [Hell]‎^[1], lines 94–96; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎^[2], 2^nd 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^[3], 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!

2. broken, out of order (of mechanisms, devices etc.)

   Synonym: rotto

3. spoilt, rotten, gone bad (of food)

   Synonyms: marcio, andato a male

4. damaged, ruined (of organs or body parts)

   Synonyms: sciupato, danneggiato

   • 1349–1353, Giovanni Boccaccio, “Giornata quarta – Novella decima”, in Decameron; republished as Aldo Francesco Massera, editor, Il Decameron‎^[4], Bari: Laterza, 1927:

     avvenne che al medico fu messo tra le mani uno infermo il quale aveva guasta l’una delle gambe

     It so happened that a patient was brought to the physician, who had a bad leg

5. (spiritually or morally) corrupt

Participle

guasto (feminine guasta, masculine plural guasti, feminine plural guaste)

1. (Tuscan) Synonym of guastato, past participle of guastare
   • 1300s–1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XXXIII”, in Inferno [Hell]‎^[5], lines 1–3; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎^[6], 2^nd 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.

2. (obsolete) broken, violated, infringed

   Synonyms: infranto, rotto, violato

   • 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto I”, in Purgatorio [Purgatory]‎^[7], lines 76–77; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎^[8], 2^nd 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)

1. (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]‎^[9], 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

2. damage

   Synonym: danno

   1. breakdown, failure, fault

      Synonym: problema

      Il guasto è nel motore. ― The fault is in the engine.

Related terms

• guastare
• guastarsi

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

guasto

1. first-person singular present indicative of guastare

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.