animale

Forms

animale m or f by sense (plural animali)^[1] Old Italian also had anemale, and the old and poetic plural animai appears in Dante.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from Latin animal (“living being, animal”) and the adjective animālis (“living, animate”), both from anima (“breath, soul”).^[5][6][7][1] The noun is the adjective's neuter animāle used as a noun, with the final vowel lost.^[1]

The LEI finds it hard to decide whether the Italian word is a learned form or a Tuscan development of the popular Old Italian anemale, while French animal, Catalan animal, Spanish animal and Portuguese animal are learned.^[8] The popular outcomes survive in the dialects, often for one kind of animal: Emilian nimal at Parma and Emilian nimä at Reggio mean “pig”, Friulian nemal “ox”, and Romansh armal “head of cattle”.^[9][10] The plural Latin animalia gave Old French aumaille (“cattle”), Spanish alimaña (“vermin”) and Romanian nămaie (“small livestock”).^[9][8] Sardinian animale is inherited.^[8]

The word for soul and animus (“mind, spirit”) go back to Proto-Italic *anamo- (“breath, spirit”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁mos (“breath”), from a root meaning to breathe.^[11][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record of the noun is the Roman Storie de Troia e de Roma of 1252–1258.^[2] DELI dates “beast” to Bondie Dietaiuti in the 13th century and “living being” to Brunetto Latini, before 1294, who defines man as “animale razionale mortale” (a rational, mortal animal).^[5][12] The adjective is in Guittone d'Arezzo before 1294 in the sense “of a beast, brutish”.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first meant “of the soul”: in the Vita nuova (1293–1294) Dante speaks of “lo spirito animale”, the animal spirit, which receives the perceptions of the senses.^[5][12] The sense “of living beings” follows in the Paradiso.^[5][4] For Dante the noun could still mean a human being, as in Francesca's address “O animal grazïoso e benigno” (O gracious and kindly living creature).^[13][14]

Boccaccio, in 1348–1353, was the first to call a coarse, dull-witted man an animale.^[5] Science added regno animale, calore animale and elettricità animale by the 18th and 19th centuries, with the adjective in the sense “of or from animals”.^[15][16] The modern figurative animale politico or animale da palcoscenico is a person with an instinct for a field.^[7][13][3] Animalista, now an animal-rights campaigner, is recorded in 1877.^[6]

Timeline

• 1252–1258 – First record, in the Storie de Troia e de Roma.^[2]
• 13th century – Bondie Dietaiuti uses animale “beast”.^[5]
• 1293–1294 – Dante's Vita nuova has the adjective “of the soul”.^[5]
• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses the noun for any living being.^[5]
• 1348–1353 – Boccaccio calls a boorish man an animale.^[5]
• Mid-14th century – Animalità in the Scala del Paradiso.^[8]
• 1673 – Animalesco in Paolo Segneri.^[5]
• 1877 – Animalista is first recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. An animal, any living organism with senses and the power of voluntary movement: La foresta pluviale ospita migliaia di animali diversi.^[7][13][17]
2. (biology) A member of the animal kingdom, which must feed on plants or other animals; with a capital, the kingdom Animali.^[7]
3. In everyday use, a beast, as opposed to a human being: In quella fattoria tengono animali da cortile.^{[7][13][17][3]}
4. (figurative) A coarse, ignorant or stupid person, also as an insult: Smettila di urlare, animale!^{[7][13][17][3]}
5. A person with a natural gift for an activity: un animale politico.^[7][13][17]

Adjective

1. Of animals or living beings: fisiologia animale.^[7][13][17]
2. Obtained from animals: grassi animali.^[7][13][17]
3. Bodily, instinctive, as opposed to spiritual: Lo spingeva un istinto animale.^{[7][13][17][4]}
4. (literary) Of the soul.^{[7][13][17][4]}

Word family

• animalesco
• animalista
• animalità
• animaletto
• animalismo
• animalistico
• animalmente

Related words

• animaleria
• animare
• anima
• animo
• bestia
• Latin animal

Usage notes

In northern dialects the word often names one animal in particular, especially the pig.^[10][18] Common phrases are animale domestico (pet; domestic animal) and animale da compagnia (pet).^[7][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c d Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 2, 1338
9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 208
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
15. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 2, 1349
16. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
17. ^ a b c d e f g h Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
18. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh