SOMMA

Somma is an Italian noun meaning the result of addition—the sum of numbers or quantities—and more generally a total or overall amount in accounting, finance, and everyday usage. In mathematics, la somma refers to the result obtained by adding terms; it can denote the sum of a finite list or of a series (a so-called infinite sum). The term is used in phrases such as la somma dei primi dieci numeri or somma parziale, the latter referring to partial sums of a sequence or series. In a financial or commercial context, somma refers to the amount of money to be paid or received, for example una somma da pagare.

Etymology: somma derives from Latin summa meaning “highest, total,” passed into Italian via medieval Latin and vernacular development. The term has long been used in mathematical and liturgical Latin contexts and has influenced related Italian vocabulary for amounts and totals.

Geographic usage: Somma appears in Italian place names, notably Somma Lombarda, a municipality in the province of Lodi, Lombardy, and Somma Vesuviana, a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania.

See also: Summa Theologiae, a famous medieval theological work whose Latin title uses Summa rather than Somma; Italian discussions of the concept of total or sum often refer to the same underlying idea.