dallaccezione

Dallaccezione is a neologistic term used in Italian linguistic discussions to describe a proposed mechanism by which a lexical item acquires and spreads multiple related senses through cross-domain metaphor and cultural uptake. The term is not part of standard dictionaries and appears mainly in contemporary scholarly writing and online forums. It is often presented as a complement to established notions such as polysemy and semantic extension rather than as a replacement.

Etymology and coinage: Dallaccezione seems to be a coined formation that blends dalla, meaning “from” or “of,” with a noun-forming suffix -zione, linked here to a nonce root accezione intended to evoke “sense” or “perception.” The precise origin is unsettled, and usage varies by author. As a label, it is typically applied to describe a pattern of meaning expansion rather than to provide a fixed, uncontroversial definition.

Usage and examples: In discussions, dallaccezione is used to describe cases where a word’s primary sense branches into a network of related senses across domains, often via metaphorical transfer. Example: the word rete (network or net) migrated from a physical mesh to computing networks and social networks, illustrating a cross-domain broadening. Another example is campo, which moves from a physical area to specialized senses like campo di applicazione (field of application) or campo visivo (visual field).

Reception and critique: Some linguists view dallaccezione as overlapping with polysemy, semantic extension, and metaphorical extension, while others see it as a useful heuristic for tracing contemporary cross-domain sense shifts in discourse. See also: polysemy, semantic shift, metaphor, lexical semantics, neologisms.