Etymologically
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affare

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Pronunciation

Forms

affare m (plural affari)[1] Older forms include Old Italian afare, Old Italian afar, Old Italian adfare and Old Italian affà.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian a + fare “to do”, from phrases such as “avere a fare” “to have to do” or “cosa a fare” “a thing to be done”.[3][4][5][1] DELI, Nocentini and Devoto–Oli think its spread was helped by French affaire, and Sabatini–Coletti call it a calque of the French word.[3][4][6][7] DEI and the TLIO go further and take it probably for a Gallicism, or at least a word supported by French “affaire” (12th century) and Old Occitan afaire.[8][2] The French word is made in the same way, from à and faire.[9] Sicilian affari is a cognate.[1]

DELI puts down to French influence in particular the sense “case dealt with in court” and the phrase “non è affar mio” “it is none of my business”.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur of the last quarter of the 12th century, and its first sense is a thing to be done, an occupation or business in general.[2][4] DELI's first record is Arrigo Testa in the early 13th century, for a person's condition and standing.[3]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian affare meant a matter to be dealt with and, just as often, a person's condition, character or way of life;[2] per nullo affare meant “in no case”.[2] The sense “social condition” lasted into Manzoni, who wrote of a couple d'alto affare, of high rank.[5][10] Brunetto Latini used the word before 1294 for a task to be carried out.[3]

The commercial sense, a business deal, is recorded in Giuseppe Baretti in 1765, and the plural affari came to mean business in general, as in uomo d'affari “businessman”.[3][5][6] In 1802 Giovanni Battista Casti used affare for a thing one cannot or will not name, the colloquial “thingummy”.[3][5] Political scandals are called affari after the French affaire, as in l'affare Dreyfus.[5][11] Francesco De Sanctis coined or first used affarismo and affarista in 1866.[3][4]

Timeline

  • Last quarter of the 12th century – The Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur use affare.[2]
  • Early 13th century – Arrigo Testa uses it for a person's condition.[3]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for a task.[3]
  • 1765 – Giuseppe Baretti uses it for a commercial deal.[3]
  • 1802 – Casti uses it for an unnamed thing.[3]
  • 1866 – Francesco De Sanctis uses affarismo and affarista.[3]
  • 1877 – The legal sense “case before a court” is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A matter to be dealt with; a task or business: Ho ancora un affare urgente da sbrigare.[5][6][7]
  2. (colloquial) A question or situation: È un brutto affare, meglio non immischiarsi.[5][7][11]
  3. A commercial or financial deal; a bargain: A quel prezzo la casa è un affare.[5][6][7]
  4. (plural) Business, trade and finance as a whole: Si occupa di affari da quando aveva vent'anni.[5][6]
  5. A political or judicial case that causes a stir; an affair: l'affare Dreyfus.[5][7][11]
  6. (colloquial) A thing one does not name precisely; a gadget: Come si accende quest'affare?[5][7][10]
  7. (dated) Social condition or rank: una dama d'alto affare.[5][7][10]

Word family

  • affarista
  • affarismo
  • affaristico
  • affarone
  • affaraccio

Usage notes

Farsi gli affari propri means “to mind one's own business”, and affari tuoi! is a brusque “that's your problem”.[5][11] Gli affari sono affari is a proverb.[6] A separate, obsolete verb affare, reflexive affarsi “to suit, be fitting”, is formed from fare.[8][2][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 j k l m n 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  8. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 73
  9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  10. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET, p. 1, 214