appoggiare

Forms

appoggiare (first-person singular present appòggio, first-person singular past historic appoggiài, past participle appoggiàto, auxiliary avére)^[1] The forms include Old Italian apoçare, Old Italian apodiarse and Old Italian apoggiare.^[2] Southern Italian has appojare, and 13th-century Piacenza apozare.^[3] Old Sicilian appuyari is recorded about 1350.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *appodiāre (“to support, lean”), formed on Latin podium (“pedestal, base”) with the prefix ad-.^[5][6][7][1] The Latin verb is recorded only in the Middle Ages, from the 12th century.^[4] GRADIT takes the first sense to have been “to set on a pedestal”, then “to lean”.^[7] The Latin noun was borrowed from Ancient Greek πόδιον (pódion, “base”), a diminutive of πούς (poús, “foot”).^[1][8]

The verb lives on in French appuyer (from the 12th century), Franco-Provençal and Old Occitan apoiar, and Old Catalan apujar (before 1269).^[4] Following Corominas, the LEI takes Spanish apoyar (from 1496), Catalan apoiar and Portuguese apoiar to be borrowings from Italian, at first as building terms, and likewise Sardinian appoggiare and Engadine appogger.^[4] Romanian has no form of it.^[3] The related poggiare and poggio continue the Latin noun too.^[9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in a 13th-century Cremonese text by Ugo di Perso.^[2] DELI's first quotation, from the Novellino at the end of the 13th century, has ladies prop the drowned Narcissus up against the side of the fountain: l'appoggiaro alle sponde.^[5][11]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense “to back, favour” is recorded in Dino Compagni (1310–1312).^[5] Old Italian also used the reflexive for seeking another's help or allying oneself, for trusting, and of ships for approaching land.^[2] The LEI finds a Sienese sense “to annoy”, and Provençal-looking apoiarsi in Davanzati and 14th-century poets.^[4]

Derivatives followed: appoggio “support” (before 1321, Dante), appoggiatura for the musical grace note (1720, B. Marcello), appoggiacapo (1865) and appoggiatesta (before 1936).^[5] Modern Italian uses the verb for giving a slap (appoggiare uno schiaffo), for passing the ball in football, for a light punch in boxing, and in banking for handing a bill to a bank for collection.^[12][13]

Timeline

• 13th century – Ugo di Perso uses the verb.^[2]
• c. 1274 – GRADIT's date of first record.^[7]
• Late 13th century – The Novellino uses it for propping something against a support.^[5]
• 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni uses it for “to support, favour”.^[5]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses the noun appoggio.^[5]
• 1720 – B. Marcello uses appoggiatura in music.^[5][6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To lean something against a support: Appoggiò la bicicletta al cancello.^[7][12][13]
2. To put down, rest on something: Appoggia il vassoio sul tavolino.^[7][12][14]
3. (figurative) To base an argument or claim on something.^[7][12][1]
4. (figurative) To support, back, favour a person, party or proposal: Il sindacato appoggia lo sciopero.^[7][14][1]
5. (colloquial) To land a blow: appoggiare uno schiaffo.^[7][12][15]
6. (sports) In football, to pass the ball to a nearby teammate; in boxing, to land a punch without much force.^[12][13]
7. (banking) appoggiare per l'incasso, to hand a bill to a bank for collection; to place a payment with a bank.^[7][12]
8. (intransitive) To rest, stand on: La trave appoggia su due pilastri.^[7][13][1]
9. (reflexive, appoggiarsi) To lean on;^[14][13][15] (figurative) to rely on someone for help.^[14][13][15]

Word family

• appoggio
• appoggiatura
• appoggiatesta
• appoggiacapo
• appoggiamano
• appoggiapiedi
• appoggiato
• appoggiatoio
• riappoggiare

Related words

• poggiare
• poggio
• podio
• French appuyer

Usage notes

The Latin verb is not continued in Romanian, and the Iberian forms are thought to be Italianisms.^[3][4] Colloquially appoggiarsi da qualcuno means to stay with someone, use their place as a base.^[16][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 256
4. ^ 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, 279
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
12. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
16. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana