Etymologically
Log in

apparire

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 20:49. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ap.paˈri.re/[1]

Forms

apparire (first-person singular present appàio or apparìsco, first-person singular past historic appàrvi or (less common) apparìi or (ditto) appàrsi, past participle appàrso, auxiliary èssere)[1] The older infinitive apparere is recorded until Tasso (before 1595).[1][2][3] Dialect forms include Genoese apparî, Bolognese aparir and Triestine aparir.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin appārēre (“to become visible, appear”), which moved to the conjugation in ⟨-ire⟩.[4][5][6][1] DEI and Prati start instead from the inchoative Late Latin *apparēscere, and Nocentini explains that the Romance forms continue both.[7][8][9] The Latin verb is made of ad- (“to, at”) and pāreō (“to appear, be visible”).[4][5][1]

The Latin verb survives in Romanian apărea, Engadine apparair, Old French aparer (whence appert (“it is evident”)), Old Occitan aparer, aparer and Campidanese appárriri; the change to ⟨-ire⟩ is shared with Friulian aparî and with aparir.[2][10] The inchoative lies behind French apparaître, Spanish aparecer and Portuguese aparecer.[9]

According to de Vaan, the Latin pāreō (whose basic sense in Latin is “to obey”) may come from a root meaning “to see”, comparing Armenian հայիմ (hayim, “to look”) and Albanian pashë (“I saw”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-s- (“to watch”), with a query.[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Bolognese Parlamenti of Guido Faba, about 1243; the LEI cites Guido Guinizelli, before 1276, for aparire “to come into sight”.[12][2] DELI dates the word to Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294, in the sense “to come into view, be evident”.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

In the early texts the verb stresses a sudden, unexpected sight that holds the attention and causes wonder.[12][13] Dante uses it for Beatrice's first appearance in the Vita Nuova and for her arrival in the Purgatorio: “Donna m'apparve, sotto verde manto” (“a lady appeared to me, beneath a green cloak”).[13][14][15] Old Italian also used it of the stars shining, of daybreak, and of flowers coming out.[12]

The verb soon gained the sense “to seem, look”, often opposed to being: Tommaseo–Bellini quotes the proverb quel che si fa all'oscuro apparisce al sole, what is done in the dark comes out in the sun.[3][12] The derivatives are old: apparenza and appariscenza are in the Novellino, apparente in Dante (1304–1308), and apparizione (about 1336, Boccaccio) goes back to Christian Latin appāritio “Epiphany”, a calque of Ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια (epipháneia).[4] sparire was formed from the verb by a change of prefix.[9] In recent use apparire alone also means to show off, to seek attention.[5][14]

Timeline

  • c. 1243 – Guido Faba uses the verb.[12]
  • Before 1276 – Guido Guinizelli uses aparire.[2]
  • Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses apparire.[4]
  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses apparente.[4]
  • c. 1336 – Boccaccio uses apparizione.[4]
  • Before 1595 – Tasso still uses the older infinitive apparere.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To appear, to come into sight, especially suddenly: Dietro la curva apparve il mare.[5][14][16]
  2. To appear as a vision or in a dream: Le apparve in sogno il nonno.[5][14][17]
  3. Of the sun, moon or stars, to rise, come out.[17][16][18]
  4. To seem, look, with an adjective: Al ritorno appariva stanco ma contento.[5][14][16]
  5. To be evident, turn out: Dai dati appare chiaro che il progetto costa troppo.[5][14][15]
  6. To show off, seek to be noticed: È uno che ama apparire.[5][14][17]

Word family

  • riapparire
  • sparire
  • apparente
  • apparenza
  • appariscente
  • appariscenza
  • apparizione
  • comparire
  • parere
  • trasparire
  • Latin appareo

Usage notes

The present has two series of forms, appaio, appari, appare and the literary apparisco, apparisci, apparisce; the past historic is apparvi, less often apparii or apparsi, and the participle apparso.[14][16][15] The verb takes essere.[1][16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 180
  3. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 251
  8. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 61
  9. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  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 c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  13. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 1, 553
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  15. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  16. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  17. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  18. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli