comandante

Forms

comandante m (plural comandanti)^[1]

Etymology

It is the present participle from Italian comandare (“to command”), used as an adjective and a noun.^[2][3][4][1] The verb comes from Vulgar Latin *commandāre “to entrust, to commend”, a form of Latin commendō, from mandō (“to entrust”) with the prefix com-.^[5][6][7] The verb is shared with French commander, Occitan comandar, Catalan comanar and Spanish comandar.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the statutes of Perugia of 1342, where the word means a person who gives directions and coordinates an action; the TLIO also has it for an officer at the head of troops.^[8] DELI dates the participle “who commands” to the late 14th century, in the Italian translation of Saint Augustine.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The participle long kept its verbal force: a translation of Augustine speaks of obeying “God commanding” (Dio comandante), and Benedetto Varchi of the “great command of the one commanding” expressed by the imperative.^[9][10] As a title of military rank it is recorded before 1680 in the writings of the general Raimondo Montecuccoli, for the commander of a formation, an army or a fleet.^[5]

In the modern language comandante is a title in the army, the navy and the air force, the captain of a merchant ship, and the captain of an aircraft, who is responsible for the crew and the flight.^[7][3] Colloquially it is also someone who likes to give orders.^[7][2]

Timeline

• 1342 – Comandante appears in the statutes of Perugia.^[8]
• Late 14th century – The participle “who commands” is used in the Italian translation of Saint Augustine.^[5]
• Before 1680 – Raimondo Montecuccoli uses it for the commander of a military formation.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who is in command; also someone who likes to order others about: Smettila di fare il comandante!^[7][2][3]
2. (military) A commander, the officer at the head of a unit, a corps or an army: comandante in capo, commander-in-chief, and comandante supremo.^[7][2][11]
3. (nautical) The captain of a ship, and in the navy the officer commanding a warship or any senior naval officer, comandante in seconda, the second in command.^[7][2][4]
4. (aviation) The captain of an aircraft, in charge of its crew and the flight.^[7][3][1]

Adjective

1. Commanding, in command: l'ufficiale comandante.^[3][12]

Word family

• sottocomandante
• vicecomandante

Related words

• comandare
• comando
• comandamento

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3, 337
11. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli