adempiere

Forms

adempiere (first-person singular present adémpio, first-person singular past historic adempiéi, past participle adempiùto, auxiliary avére)^[1] The variant adempire has the forms adempisco beside adémpio and adempito beside adempiuto, and most forms other than the present are usually taken from it.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin adimpleō (“to fill up; to fulfil”), with a change of conjugation to Italian ⟨-ere⟩.^[5][6][7][1] The Latin verb, used by Columella, is formed ad- + impleō (“to fill”), the source of empire; it meant first “to fill completely” and then “to carry out”.^[6][7][8][1]

The LEI notes that the verb continues with the change to ⟨-ĕre⟩ only in Italian, and treats forms that keep the /d/ as learned or semi-learned.^[7] The southern dialects have reduced popular forms such as Neapolitan dégnere and Sicilian adèmpiri.^[7][9] The variant in ⟨-ire⟩ matches a change of conjugation already seen in the simple verb, which has it in the Glosas Emilianenses (about 900), and in Old French ademplir and Old Occitan ademplir.^[7] Nocentini and REW give aemplir and azemplir as the other Romance outcomes, and REW takes Old Italian aempiere from the French verb.^[6][10] DEI calls it a word in constant use throughout the Middle Ages, in Italy, Provence and France.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a document from Montieri dated 1219, with the sense “to carry into effect” what a duty, a will or an intention requires.^[11][6] DELI dates the sense “to execute, carry out” from the Novellino at the end of the 13th century, and the variant adempire from Iacopone da Todi, who died in 1306.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used the verb both for carrying out a duty or a wish and for making something full or complete; reflexively it meant “to come to pass”.^[11] Dante uses it for discharging a task (about 1319), Giordano da Pisa in 1305 for a prophecy that comes true, and the sense “to fill, complete” lasts in literary use from a 14th-century Bible translation to Carducci in 1907.^[7]

The intransitive use with a (adempiere al dovere) is recorded from Salvini in 1729.^[7] Treccani judges it less correct than the transitive construction.^[3] In law the verb and its noun adempimento name the performance of what a contract requires, a sense DELI dates from 1961.^[5][4] The negatives inadempiente (1917) and inadempienza (1928) belong to the same legal language.^[6]

Timeline

• 1219 – A document from Montieri has the first record.^[11][6]
• Late 13th century – The Novellino uses it for “to carry out”.^[5]
• 1305 – Giordano da Pisa uses the reflexive for “to come true”.^[7]
• Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses the variant adempire.^[5]
• Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca has adempimento and adempiuto.^[5]
• 1729 – Salvini uses it intransitively, “to comply”.^[7]
• 1745 – Adempibile “that can be fulfilled” is recorded.^[5]
• 1917 – Inadempiente “defaulting” appears.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To carry out fully, to fulfil a duty, a task or a promise; to grant a wish: adempiere gli impegni presi.^{[12][2][13][4][1]}
2. (intransitive, with a) To comply with an obligation; to keep faith with a promise: adempiere agli obblighi del contratto.^{[2][13][4][14][1]}
3. (law, intransitive) To perform what a contract requires, in the place and at the time it sets.^[4]
4. (pronominal adempiersi) To come true, to be fulfilled: la sua previsione si è adempiuta.^{[2][13][4][14][15]}
5. (archaic, literary) To fill completely; to complete.^{[12][4][3][15]}

Word family

• adempimento
• adempibile
• inadempiente
• inadempienza
• adempienza

Related words

• adempire
• empire
• riempire
• Latin adimpleō

Usage notes

Diffida ad adempiere is the legal formal notice calling on a party to perform a contract.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
4. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 59
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
12. ^ a b c De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli