abate

Forms

abate m (plural abati, feminine badessa, diminutive abatìno, augmentative abatóne, derogatory abatùccio or abatónzolo or abatùcolo)^[1] Older forms include Old Italian abbate, abao, abà, abade and abadho.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin abbās (“abbot”), taken from the accusative ⟨abbātem⟩.^[3][4][5][1] The Latin word comes from the ecclesiastical term Ancient Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs), from Aramaic אבא (ʾabbā, “father”).^[4][5][1] The Aramaic word passed through the Greek of the Bible into the Latin of the Vulgate, where Paul's letter to the Galatians has ⟨Abba, Pater⟩;^[6] the Latin word as the head of a community of monks is first found in Jerome, before 394, who objected to giving the name “father” to anyone but God.^[6]

The word kept the ⟨b⟩ of church Latin in Italian, as in French abbé, Catalan abat, Spanish abad and Portuguese abade; only the dialect of Bregaglia, with ⟨aveth⟩, and Romansh avat show the popular development of the Latin accusative.^[6][4] It also passed into Germanic, as Old High German abbāt, whence German Abt.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a document from Prato of 1128, and a vernacular passage in a document from Coltibuono of about 1120 already has abate.^[2][4] DELI dates it from the poem Alta maiestà (1252), with the form abadho in Uguccione da Lodi early in the 13th century.^[3] The sense is the superior of a monastery or abbey.^[3][2] DELI quotes the view that the word was first a mere title of honour and only later implied rank in the monastery, and notes that the Italian records do not bear this out.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used the word figuratively, of Christ and of Satan, of someone who enjoys or should enjoy church benefices, and of a well-fed person.^[2] In Genoa, Savona and other northern communes of the 13th and 14th centuries the abate del popolo was the chief magistrate of the people.^[2][7][8] The leader of the merry companies that ran popular festivities between Christmas and Epiphany was also called abate (abate degli stolti).^[7][8]

From the 18th century, especially in northern Italy, abate was an honorific title for simple priests, seminarians and laymen allowed to wear clerical dress, as in l’abate Parini.^[8][9] Treccani ascribes this use to French influence, while Prati denies it, since French abbé in this sense is recorded only from the 17th century.^[8][7] The diminutive abatino is recorded before 1563 and later named a young man in clerical dress with no intention of taking orders.^[3] English used abbate for an Italian abbé from 1822, and German has Abate from 1879.^[10] GRADIT also lists abate as the name of a variety of pear.^[5]

Timeline

• About 1120 – A vernacular passage in a document from Coltibuono has abate.^[2]
• 1128 – Abate is recorded in a document from Prato.^[2][4][9]
• Early 13th century – Uguccione da Lodi has the northern form abadho.^[3]
• 1252 – Abate appears in the poem Alta maiestà.^[3][10]
• 1262 – Badessa “abbess” is recorded.^[4]
• Before 1342 – Cavalca uses abbate as a title for a holder of church benefices.^[3]
• Before 1563 – The diminutive abatino is recorded.^[3]
• 1822 – English abbate is recorded.^[10]
• 1879 – German Abate is recorded.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Roman Catholicism) An abbot: the superior of an abbey or autonomous monastery, elected by the monks: L’abate ricevette i pellegrini alla porta del convento.^{[5][11][12][1]}
2. (historical) In the 18th century, an honorific title of priests, seminarians and laymen who held church benefices.^[5][11][9]
3. (historical) In the communes of northern Italy, the chief magistrate of the people (abate del popolo).^[5][8][2]
4. A variety of pear with an elongated fruit and russet skin; a pear of this variety.^[5][11]

Word family

• abatino
• abbazia
• badia
• badiale
• badessa
• arciabate

Related words

• Latin abbas
• French abbé

Usage notes

The form abbate is literary or less common.^[9][11] The feminine counterpart is badessa.^[1][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 1, 48
7. ^ a b c Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 10
8. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
9. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c d Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
11. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana