Etymologically
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cambiamento

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Pronunciation

  • /kam.bjaˈmen.to/[1]

Forms

cambiamento m (plural cambiamenti)[1] Old Italian forms include cambiament, canbiamento and chanbiamento.[2]

Etymology

It is from Italian cambiare + -mento.[3][4][1][2] The verb continues Late Latin cambiāre (“to exchange”), a Late Latin word of Gaulish origin; a Gallo-Latin glossary of the 8th century explains it as giving one thing for another.[5][6] Nocentini compares Old Irish camm (“crooked”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Mantuan translation of Belcalzer (1299–1309), in the sense of a passage from one condition to another, also of social rank, or a transformation.[2][6] DELI and GRADIT date the word from Boccaccio, 1352.[5][3]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used the word in trade, for a commercial transaction or a sale.[2] In the Decameron a man's face begins to change, and soon after the change (appresso il cambiamento) he loses his sight and speech.[7][8] Tommaseo–Bellini notes the phrase fare un cambiamento for a person whose habits or looks have changed a great deal.[8]

Technical uses followed: cambiamento di scena in the theatre, also for a sudden turn of events, cambiamento di stato in physics, a move from one blade contact to another in fencing, and cambiamento di mano in riding.[9][10][11] Cambiamento climatico, climate change, is a modern compound term.[1]

Timeline

  • 1299–1309 – Belcalzer uses cambiamento in Mantua.[2][6]
  • 1310 – Zingarelli's date for the first record.[12]
  • 1352 – Boccaccio uses the word.[5][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A change, the act or result of changing: a change of address, of job, of seat.[3][10][12]
  2. The turn or alternation of something: il cambiamento di stagione.[3][10]
  3. A change in a person's looks, character or habits, or in a situation: In un anno ha fatto un grande cambiamento.[3][9][8]
  4. (fencing) A move from one contact with the opponent's blade to another.[10][11][3]
  5. (riding) In cambiamento di mano, a change of direction in dressage.[10][11]

Usage notes

Fixed expressions include cambiamento di scena (literally and figuratively), cambiamento di stato (physics), cambiamento di frequenza (electronics) and linea del cambiamento di data, the International Date Line.[3][10][9] Synonyms are mutamento and variazione.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  4. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  5. ^ a b c Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 2, 570
  8. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  10. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  11. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  12. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli