caldeggiare

Forms

caldeggiare (first-person singular present caldéggio, first-person singular past historic caldeggiài, past participle caldeggiàto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian caldo + -eggiare.^[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary also gives Vulgar Latin *calidizāre, from Latin calidus (“hot”) with the verb suffix -izāre.^[1] The adjective caldo is from Latin caldus, a syncopated form of the same Latin adjective, from caleō (“to be warm”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Florentine chronicle of Matteo Villani (1348–1363), in the sense “to defend with passion, to protect”: caldeggiando l'oste ch'era alla Scarperia (“supporting the army that was at Scarperia”).^[5][7][8]

Semantic evolution

The old sense “to protect, defend” is still found in Montecuccoli in the 17th century.^[8] The modern sense “to recommend warmly, to favour” is dated by DELI to Tommaseo's dictionary (1865), which notes that the word is not part of spoken language but that some modern writers use it.^[7][9] Fogazzaro writes that the most fanatical intransigents caldeggiavano la nomina, backed an appointment the government disliked.^[8] Today it is a common word.^[2]

Timeline

• Before 1363 – Matteo Villani uses caldeggiare “to protect”.^[7][5]
• 1865 – Tommaseo records the sense “to favour warmly”.^[7][9]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To support warmly, to back or recommend strongly: Molti colleghi caldeggiano la sua candidatura.^[2][10][11]
2. (archaic) To protect, defend.^[8][5]

Related words

• caldo
• calore
• Latin calidus

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 677
5. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
11. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli