Etymologically
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appuntamento

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Pronunciation

  • /ap.pun.taˈmen.to/[1]

Forms

appuntamento m (plural appuntamenti)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French appointement, a legal term recorded in French from 1388.[2][3][4][5] In French it meant an interim ruling by which a judge ordered the parties to bring new witnesses or written evidence on the points of a case that were still unclear; it is derived from appointer (“to settle a case; to fix a hearing”), from point.[2][3][6] From “settlement of a matter” it came to mean an agreement to meet.[3][7] Devoto and Sabatini–Coletti call it a calque on the French word.[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records have the sense “agreement, pact”: Niccolò Machiavelli used it in 1502.[2][4] Nocentini dates the word to 1487 and Zingarelli to before 1471.[3][6] DELI rejects an earlier quotation from Fra Giordano that the Crusca dictionaries, Tommaseo and Battaglia repeated, as almost certainly a forgery.[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century the word belonged to politics and diplomacy: Guicciardini feared “un nuovo appuntamento simile a quello di Cambrai” (a new settlement like that of Cambrai).[10][6] DEI also records the sense “allowance, pay” in Leopardi.[5]

The sense “an arranged meeting at a given place and time” is first recorded in 1743, in Giovanni Lami, and DEI finds it in Alfieri.[2][5] It is now the only common sense, and the older ones are literary or obsolete.[4][11] Modern phrases include appuntamento al buio “blind date”, appuntamento spaziale or in orbita for the docking of two spacecraft, the euphemism casa d'appuntamenti for a brothel, and mancare all'appuntamento “to fail to live up to expectations”, said of athletes and teams.[4][11][6]

Timeline

  • 1388 – French appointement is recorded as a legal term.[2][4]
  • 1502 – Machiavelli uses appuntamento for “agreement”.[2][4]
  • 1743 – Giovanni Lami uses it for an arranged meeting.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An appointment, an arranged meeting between people at a set place and time: Abbiamo appuntamento davanti al cinema alle nove, un appuntamento di lavoro.[4][11][9][1]
  2. A booking with a doctor or other professional: Il dentista riceve solo su appuntamento.[4]
  3. A date, a romantic meeting, appuntamento al buio, a blind date.[4][11][1]
  4. (figurative) mancare all'appuntamento: to fail to meet expectations, especially of a team or athlete.[4][11][7]
  5. (literary, obsolete) An agreement, pact.[4][11][9]

Usage notes

A separate, rare appuntamento “sharpening, putting a point on”, derived from appuntare and recorded from 1555, is listed by GRADIT as obsolete.[4][6][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 259
  6. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  11. ^ 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