Etymologically
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combattere

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Pronunciation

  • /komˈbat.te.re/[1]

Forms

combattere (first-person singular present combàtto, first-person singular past historic combattéi, past participle combattùto, auxiliary avére)[1] Old forms include Old Italian combatere, Old Italian conbattere and the Latinizing spelling Old Italian combactere.[2][3] The Neapolitan form is commattere.[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *combattuere, a Late Latin compound of cum (“with”) and battuō (“to beat, pound”), recorded from the 6th century in the sense “to beat, strike”.[4][5][6][1] The new verb took the place of classical Latin pugnō (“to fight”).[6][3]

The same word is French combattre, Occitan combatre, Catalan combatre, Spanish combatir and Portuguese combater, as well as Friulian combàti, Engadine combatter, Logudorese kumbáttere and Vegliote cuombatter.[3][5][7] It is found in all of Romance except Romanian.[6] Latin “battuō” is rare in literature and of unknown origin: it may have come from Gaulish or Germanic.[1]

Combattivo and combattività are explained by DELI and Nocentini as borrowings of French combatif and combativité.[4][5] The LEI rejects this on the dates, since the Italian words are recorded slightly before the French ones.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Proverbia que dicuntur super natura feminarum, a Venetian poem of the late 12th century.[2] DELI's first dates are in Bono Giamboni, before 1292, for both “to take part in a battle” and the transitive “to attack in battle”.[4][8]

Semantic evolution

From the first records the verb covered armed fighting, duels and war, but also blows, sporting contests and fights between animals.[2] Dante writes of Achilles “che per amore al fine combatteo” (who in the end fought for love).[9] The figurative sense “to oppose, resist” is found in Dante's Commedia (1304–1308), and the TLIO records early uses for thoughts and temptations that assail the mind.[4][2] Dante also uses the transitive verb for the sea “beaten” by opposing winds, a literary sense that survives in dictionaries.[10]

The past participle combattuto became an adjective for “torn, undecided” in Giambattista Marino in 1623, and combattimento “battle” is in Boccaccio around 1336.[4] The 20th century added combattentismo, the glorification of combat (1935).[4] Today the verb is used for war, for sport, and for any effort against an evil, from disease to corruption.[8][11]

Timeline

  • Late 12th century – The Proverbia que dicuntur (Venetian) use the verb.[2]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses combattere for taking part in a battle.[4]
  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for opposing something.[4]
  • c. 1336 – Boccaccio uses combattimento.[4]
  • 1623 – Marino uses combattuto for “torn, irresolute”.[4]
  • 1918 – Combattivo is recorded.[4]
  • 1935 – Combattentismo is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (intransitive) To fight, to take part in a battle or armed struggle: Suo nonno combatté sul Carso.[8][12][11][1]
  2. (intransitive, sports) To compete hard, to fight for a result: La squadra ha combattuto fino all'ultimo minuto.[8][12][13]
  3. (intransitive, figurative) To struggle against or for something: Da anni combatte per i diritti dei lavoratori.[8][11][10]
  4. (intransitive, humorous) To grapple with something or someone difficult: Ogni mattina combatto con la sveglia.[8][12]
  5. (transitive) To fight an enemy; to combat, try to defeat something: Bisogna combattere l'evasione fiscale.[8][11][13]
  6. (transitive, chiefly passive) To torment, trouble: essere combattuto, to be torn between choices.[8][1]

Word family

  • combattente
  • combattimento
  • combattività
  • combattivo
  • combattuto
  • combattentismo
  • combattentistico

Usage notes

Combattere contro i mulini a vento, “to tilt at windmills”, is a fixed phrase for fighting imaginary enemies.[8][10] Combattere contro il tempo is said of racing against a deadline.[12][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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 Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 15, 1201
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1026
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  9. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3, 342
  10. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  13. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana