Etymologically
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attirare

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Pronunciation

  • /at.tiˈra.re/[1]

Forms

attirare (first-person singular present attìro, first-person singular past historic attirài, past participle attiràto, auxiliary avére)[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian a- + tirare, with the prefix strengthening the verb.[2][3][4][1] DEI compares French attirer, and the TLIO derives one Old Italian use, in the “Fiore”, from Old French atirer.[5][6]

The base verb comes from Vulgar Latin *tirāre, whose origin is much discussed and in the end unknown.[2][4] Nocentini tentatively relates it to Latin terō (“to rub, wear away”) and to tīrō (“recruit”), and rejects a derivation from trahō (“to draw”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The dating is disputed.[6][2] The TLIO's first record is in Pier della Vigna, before 1249, in the sense “to draw to oneself”, and Nocentini and Zingarelli also put the word in the 13th century.[6][3][7] DELI instead takes the first sure record from Anton Maria Salvini (1726): it suspects that the older example in Domenico Cavalca, given by Tommaseo–Bellini, is a misreading, and that atira de in the Tristano is the French s'atirier de “to prepare to”.[2][8] GRADIT and Sabatini–Coletti follow DELI's dating.[4][9]

Semantic evolution

Already in Old Italian the verb had the figurative sense “to acquire, earn”.[6] Tommaseo–Bellini notes its use in physics, for a body that draws another towards itself, and still found the simple tirare or attrarre preferable.[8]

In modern writers attirare is used for drawing someone close (Verga, D'Annunzio, Deledda) and for luring people or animals.[10] Its present senses range from the attraction of a magnet to attracting attention, luring someone into a trap, and drawing visitors or customers.[4][11]

Timeline

  • Before 1249 – Pier della Vigna uses attirare.[6]
  • 14th century – DEI's date for the word.[5]
  • 1726 – Anton Maria Salvini uses it, the first sure record according to DELI.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To attract, to draw towards itself by a physical force: Il magnete attira la limatura di ferro.[4][11][7]
  2. (figurative) To draw something onto oneself, such as attention or looks: Quel cappello rosso attirava gli sguardi di tutti.[4][11][12]
  3. To lure someone somewhere by deceit: attirare il nemico in un'imboscata.[4][11][9]
  4. To entice buyers or customers.[4]
  5. To appeal to, tempt someone: L'idea di trasferirmi all'estero non mi attira.[4][11][13]
  6. To fascinate, attract a person.[4][11]
  7. To draw people to a place or an event: Il festival attira visitatori da tutta Europa.[4][11]
  8. (attirarsi) To bring upon oneself, earn (sympathy, hatred); (reciprocal) to attract each other.[11][9][7]

Word family

  • riattirare

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 356
  6. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  7. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 1, 553
  11. ^ 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
  12. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli