bestemmiare

Forms

bestemmiare (first-person singular present bestémmio, first-person singular past historic bestemmiài, past participle bestemmiàto, auxiliary avére)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian biastemare, Old Italian biastemiare, Old Italian bastemmiare and Old Italian bestegnare.^[2][3][4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *blastemāre (“to insult, to offend”), an altered form of Late Latin blasphēmāre, which is from Ancient Greek βλασφημέω (blasphēméō, “I slander, I speak impiously”).^[6][7][8][9] Nocentini analyses the Greek verb as a compound of βλάβη (blábē, “harm”) and φημί (phēmí, “to say”), while Zingarelli calls its origin uncertain.^[6][4] The noun Vulgar Latin blastema is attested in an inscription from Gaul, and Medieval Greek has Byzantine Greek βλαστημῶ (blastēmô) in the 11th century.^[8]

The ⟨-t-⟩ is usually explained by the dissimilation of the second labial, the view of Corominas that the LEI follows.^[8] Malkiel preferred the influence of Latin aestimāre (“to value”), so that cursing was felt as the lack of all esteem.^[8][6][5] The expected outcome, Old Italian biastemare, is the form of the oldest texts.^[6][8] Nocentini explains its further change by the loss of a clear meaning and by taboo, and most dictionaries see a crossing with bestia.^{[6][3][10][1]} Devoto assumes both, with an expressive doubling of the ⟨-m-⟩.^[11]

The Vulgar Latin verb is pan-Romance: Romanian blestema (“to curse”), Friulian blestemâ, Old Occitan blastemar, Catalan blastemar, and Spanish lastimar and Portuguese lastimar “to hurt, to offend”.^[6][8] French blâmer and Occitan blasmar mean “to blame”.^[6] The same word gave biasimare, and the learned blasfemare comes directly from the Church Latin verb.^[6][8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Patecchio's Splanamento, from Cremona in the 13th century.^[9] DELI finds biastemare in the 13th-century paraphrase of the Ten Commandments, with the sense “to insult God with offensive words”, and Zingarelli dates the word to 1266.^[12][4]

Semantic evolution

Dante has bestemmiare in the Commedia (1300–1313) and earlier, in 1293–1294, the sense “to curse”.^[12] Dante writes: “Bestemmiavano Dio e lor parenti, / l'umana spezie e 'l luogo e 'l tempo e 'l seme / di lor semenza e di lor nascimenti” (“they cursed God and their parents, the human race, the place, the time and the seed of their begetting”).^[3][10] Francesco da Barberino uses it in 1314 for uttering curses.^[12] Boccaccio reproaches those who, for every straw that turns under their feet, “bestemmiate Iddio e la Madre, e tutta la corte di paradiso”.^[5]

The learned blasfemare ran beside it from Jacopone (before 1306) into the 16th century, and again in Croce.^[8] A newer sense, speaking a language badly, is recorded in Milanese bestemmà (1843) and in Carducci (before 1907).^[12] The phrase bestemmiare come un turco is said of someone who swears often and coarsely.^[7][3][13]

Timeline

• 13th century – Patecchio uses the verb at Cremona.^[9]
• 1266 – Zingarelli's date for the first record.^[4]
• 13th century – Biastemare appears in a paraphrase of the Ten Commandments.^[12]
• 1293–1294 – Dante uses the verb for “to curse”.^[12]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses bestemmiare in the Commedia.^[12]
• Before 1306 – Jacopone uses the learned blasfemare.^[8]
• 1314 – Francesco da Barberino uses it for “to utter curses”.^[12]
• First half of the 14th century – Bestemmiatore is recorded.^[6]
• 1843 – Milanese bestemmà “to speak a language badly” is recorded.^[12]
• Before 1907 – Carducci uses the verb for speaking a language badly.^[12]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To blaspheme, to insult God, the saints or holy things.^[7][3][2][1]
2. (transitive) To curse, to revile: bestemmiare il proprio destino.^[7][3][2][1]
3. (transitive, figurative) To offend or ill-treat something that deserves respect: bestemmiare la verità.^[7][3][13]
4. (transitive) To speak a language badly, to butcher it: bestemmiare il russo.^[7][3][2][4]
5. (intransitive) To swear, to utter blasphemies or curses: bestemmiare come un turco.^{[7][3][13][1]}
6. (intransitive) To talk nonsense, to say something absurd.^{[7][3][13][1]}

Word family

• bestemmia
• bestemmiatore
• bestemmiabile
• bestemmiante
• bestemmiatorio

Related words

• biasimare
• blasfemare
• blasfemo
• Late Latin blasphemo

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it
9. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana