apprezzare

Forms

apprezzare (first-person singular present apprèzzo, first-person singular past historic apprezzài, past participle apprezzàto, auxiliary avére)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian apprezare, Old Italian appreçare and the Sicilian participle appreciatu.^[2] A northern Old Italian apprezar is recorded at Ferrara before 1360.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin appretiāre (“to value, appraise”), a verb formed in Late Latin on Latin pretium (“price, value”) with the prefix ad-.^[4][5][6][7] The Late Latin verb is first found in Tertullian, and it was common in the Old Latin Bible, the Vulgate and the later Christian writers.^[3][8]

The LEI counts the Italian verb and Romansh appredschar of the Engadine as the only popular outcomes of the Late Latin verb.^[3] French apprécier (from 1391), Old Occitan apreciar, Catalan apreciar, Spanish apreciar and Portuguese apreciar are learned forms of it.^[3] The Italian ⟨zz⟩ continues the Latin /tj/, as in prezzo.^[4][5]

The Latin noun was at first the exchange value of a thing.^[9] De Vaan derives it from a preposition Proto-Indo-European *preti (“against”), an e-grade beside the Proto-Indo-European *proti of Ancient Greek προτί (protí, “towards”) and Sanskrit प्रति (práti, “against, towards”), and finds no viable alternative.^[9][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Splanamento of Patecchio of Cremona, in the 13th century, with the sense “to fix the price of a thing, to appraise it”.^[2] The LEI dates the sense “to assign a price, value” from 1304, in a translation of Plutarch, and Zingarelli gives 1288.^[3][10]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense “to esteem, to recognise the worth of a thing” is recorded from Dante, who uses the verb in the Paradiso for what God values most.^[4][3][11] Petrarch applies it to people, valued for their qualities.^[3] Boccaccio still uses it for setting a price: a sword whose hilt could not easily be valued.^[4][11] A Tuscan proverb collected in 1853 says that jewels are worth what they are esteemed at (le gioie valgono quanto s'apprezzano).^[12][3]

The weaker sense “to welcome, to be grateful for” (someone's admiration or attentions) is recorded from Nievo in 1861.^[3] The original sense of setting a price has become rare.^[10][13] In economics the reflexive apprezzarsi “to gain value”, said of a currency, follows English to appreciate, and apprezzamento “rise in exchange rate” is recorded from 1974.^[4][10] Medicine uses the verb for detecting a sign in an examination.^[6]

Timeline

• 13th century – Patecchio of Cremona uses the verb for appraising.^[2]
• 1304 – A translation of Plutarch uses it for fixing a price.^[3]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for esteeming.^[4]
• 1353 – Boccaccio uses it for setting a price.^[4]
• Before 1374 – Petrarch applies it to people.^[3]
• 16th century – Apprezzabile and apprezzamento appear in Lorenzo Giacomini.^[4]
• 1861 – Nievo uses it for welcoming someone's admiration.^[3]
• 1974 – Apprezzamento is used for the rise of a currency, after English.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To esteem, to value someone or something for their qualities: Tutti la apprezzano per la sua onestà.^[7][13][6]
2. To appreciate, to welcome and be grateful for: Ho apprezzato molto il tuo aiuto.^[7][13][10]
3. (rare) To fix the price of something, to appraise it.^[7][13][10]
4. (medicine) To detect a sign in an examination.^[6]
5. (economics; reflexive) apprezzarsi: to rise in value, of a currency or other asset: Il franco si è apprezzato sull'euro.^[13][10][14]

Word family

• apprezzabile
• apprezzamento
• apprezzatore
• apprezzativo

Related words

• prezzo
• pregio
• disprezzare
• deprezzare
• Latin pretium
• French apprécier

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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 Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 337
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 258
9. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana