volta

From Italian volta. Doublet of volte.

volta (plural voltas)

1. (music) A turning; a time (chiefly used in phrases signifying that the part is to be repeated).
2. (music, dance) A dance for couples popular during the late Renaissance, associated with the galliard and done to the same kind of music.

   Synonyms: levalto, volte

3. (poetry) A turning point or point of change in a poem, most commonly a sonnet.
   • 2025 May 31, Tanjil Rashid, quoting Lamorna Ash, “Finding their religion”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 9:

     […] [Larmona] Ash describes how “conversion arrives like a volta [poetic shift]^[sic] in a person's life.” The metaphor is apt, imagining one's spiritual life as a poem, an authored thing, and not preserved on vellum either, but open to revision.

• Volta (literature) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• lovat, votal

From the verb voltar (“to turn, spin around”).

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈbɔl.tə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈvɔl.tə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈvɔl.ta]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

volta f (plural voltes)

1. turn, spin
2. (architecture) vault (an arched masonry structure supporting and forming a ceiling)
3. lap (of a track)
4. time (instance)

   Synonyms: cop, vegada

5. (cycling) tour (bicycle race)

• voltar

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

volta

1. inflection of voltar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• “volta”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “volta”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “volta” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “volta” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Latin volvo.

• IPA^(key): [ˈvolta]

volta f

1. lavolta (dance)

• voluta

• “volta”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “volta”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

From Old Galician-Portuguese volta (“revolt”) (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria) from voltar (“to turn around”), from Vulgar Latin *vol(vi)tāre, derived from Latin volvere.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔlta/

volta f (plural voltas)

1. turnaround
2. overturn
3. turn, bend

   Esa estrada ten moitas voltas. ― That road has many bends.

4. return

   Synonym: retorno

5. somersault

   Synonyms: pirueta, pinchacarneiro, pinchagato, reviravolta

6. change (money given back when a customer hands over more than the exact price of an item)

   Paguei dez euros e deume cinco de volta. ― I paid ten euros and he hand me five in change

7. backside

   Na volta hai un debuxo. ― On the backside there is a sketch.

8. detour
9. walk, stroll

   Synonym: paseo

   • 1842, Juan Manuel Pintos, Meu querido pai:

     Ali dei tres voltas
     como de recreo
     Axiña ò deixei
     Voltei para ò eido,

     I went there for three strolls,
     as if recreating.
     Soon I left it,
     went back to my home

10. turn of events
11. (archaic) disturbance, riot, revolt

    Synonym: revolta

    • 1370, R. Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 561:

      Et começou o torneo a creçer tãto, et a seer o acapelamento tã grande, et a uolta et os braados et os alaridos et os sõos dos cornos et das tronpas tã grandes et tã esquiuos que ome nõ se podía oýr

      And the tournament began to grow so much, and the carnage was so large, and the din and the shouts and the yells and the sound of the horns and of the trumpets so big and harsh that a man couldn't heard himself

• dar unha volta
• dar voltas
• reviravolta

• revolta
• voltar

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “volta”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “volta”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “bolta”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “volta”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “volta”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “volta”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

volta

1. inflection of voltar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

From the original vol- stem of van (“to be”) +‎ -ta (noun-forming suffix), the latter from -t (noun-forming suffix) +‎ -a (possessive suffix).

• IPA^(key): [ˈvoltɒ]
• Hyphenation: vol‧ta
• Rhymes: -tɒ

volta

1. being, character, condition, rank, nature, or quality of someone or something

   Synonyms: jelleg (“character, nature, feature”), -ság/-ség (“-ness”)

   • 1915, Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis (Hungarian translation: Miklós Györffy; English translation: Ian Johnston)

     Húga persze igyekezett leplezni az egésznek a kínos voltát, és ahogy telt az idő, ez egyre jobban sikerült is neki (…)

     The sister admittedly sought to cover up the awkwardness of everything as much as possible, and, as time went by, she naturally got more successful at it. (literally, “…cover up the whole [thing] being awkward…” or “the awkward nature of the whole [thing]…”)

     Samsa úr, bizalmatlanságában, amelynek alaptalan volta nyilvánvalóvá vált, a két nővel együtt kilépett az előtérre (…)

     In what turned out to be an entirely groundless mistrust, Mr. Samsa stepped with the two women out onto the landing (…) (literally, “Mr. Samsa in his mistrust, whose being groundless became evident,…”)

• volta in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Borrowed from English volt.

volta m (genitive singular volta, nominative plural voltanna)

1. (electricity) volt

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “volta”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “volta”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “volta”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2025

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɔl.ta/^[1][2]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: Volta
• Rhymes: -ɔlta
• Hyphenation: vòl‧ta

Inherited from Vulgar Latin root *volta, from *volŭta (perhaps via *volvita (“a turn”)), from the feminine form of Latin volūtus, perfect passive participle of volvō. Also possibly from the past participle of volgere (volto), or from the verb voltare. Compare Spanish vuelta; cf. also Spanish bóveda, French voûte.

volta f (plural volte)

1. time, instance, occasion

   a volte ― sometimes

   due volte alla settimana ― twice a week

   tre volte tre fa nove ― three times three is nine

2. turn
4. (architecture) vault

   Hyponyms: volta a botte, volta a crociera, volta a vela

   Coordinate term: cupola

5. (anatomy) vault

• → German: Volte
  • → Swedish: volt
    • → Finnish: voltti
• → Greek: βόλτα (vólta, “turn, walk”)
• → Hungarian: bolt (“shop”)
• → Ottoman Turkish: اولته (olta), اولطه (olta)
  • Turkish: olta
  • → Armenian: օլթա (ōltʻa)
• → Slavomolisano: vota
• → Turkish: volta

volta

1. feminine singular of volto

volta

1. feminine singular of volto

volta

1. inflection of voltare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• vulta
• voltūs

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈwʊɫ.ta]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈvul̪.t̪a]

volta n

1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of voltum (“expression, appearance; image, likeness; face; visage, countenance”)

Borrowed from Italian volta.

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɔl.ta/

volta f (plural volti)

1. turn
2. (nautical) hitch

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈvolːta/

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

volta

1. volt

Even a-stem, lt-ltt gradation
Nominative	volta
Genitive	voltta
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	volta	volttat
Accusative	voltta	volttaid
Genitive	voltta	volttaid
Illative	voltii	volttaide
Locative	volttas	volttain
Comitative	volttain	volttaiguin
Essive	voltan
Possessive forms Singular Dual Plural 1st person voltan voltame voltamet 2nd person voltat voltade voltadet 3rd person voltas voltaska voltaset

• Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[1], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

volta

1. somersault, volte

Even a-stem, lt-ltt gradation
Nominative	volta
Genitive	voltta
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	volta	volttat
Accusative	voltta	volttaid
Genitive	voltta	volttaid
Illative	voltii	volttaide
Locative	volttas	volttain
Comitative	volttain	volttaiguin
Essive	voltan
Possessive forms Singular Dual Plural 1st person voltan voltame voltamet 2nd person voltat voltade voltadet 3rd person voltas voltaska voltaset

• Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[2], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɔl.ta/
• Rhymes: -ɔlta
• Syllabification: vol‧ta

Unadapted borrowing from French volte.

volta f

1. alternative spelling of wolta

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

volta m inan

1. genitive singular of volt

• volta in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• volta in Polish dictionaries at PWN

• Homophone: Volta
• Hyphenation: vol‧ta

From Old Galician-Portuguese volta (“turnaround”), from voltar (“to turn around”), from Vulgar Latin *vol(vi)tāre, derived from Latin volvere.

volta f (plural voltas)

1. return (act of returning)

   Synonyms: regresso, retorno

   Antonyms: ida, saída

   A volta do rei.

   The king’s return.

2. bend (in a course, line, pipe, etc.)

   Synonyms: curva, meandro, serpeio, sinuosidade, volteio

   Antonym: reta

   O barco ficou preso numa volta do riacho.

   The boat got stuck in one of the creek’s bends.

3. turnaround (act of turning around)

   Synonyms: giro, torneio, virada

   Fiz uma volta com o carro.

   I turned the car around.

   (literally, “I did a turnaround with the car.”)

4. a loop of a coil or spiral staircase
5. loop (length of thread, line or rope that is doubled over)
6. (figurative) volte-face (a reversal of policy, attitude or principle)

   Synonyms: guinada, reviravolta, virada

   Não me saí bem nas voltas da vida.

   I didn’t do well in the volte-faces of life.

7. stroll; walk

   dar uma volta ― go for a walk

volta

1. inflection of voltar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

volt +‎ -a

volta (present voltar, preterite voltade, supine voltat, imperative volta)

1. to flip, to somersault (rotate, usually in an accident)

   Han voltade med lastbilen

   He overturned his truck

   Bilen voltade tjugo gånger

   The car somersaulted twenty times

volta c

1. (slang) a prison sentence or pre-trial detention

• volta in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• volta in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• volta in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• Slangopedia

Borrowed from Italian volta.^[1] Doublet of volt and olta.

• IPA^(key): /ˈβoɫ.ta/
• Hyphenation: vol‧ta

volta (definite accusative voltayı, plural voltalar)

1. (nautical) A single act of wrapping a rope aroun a bollard.
2. (nautical) The act of zigzagging to dodge a headwind.
3. (slang) Continually walking back and forth, especially for prisoners in a prison yard.

• “volta”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “volta”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 5130