commesso

Forms

commesso m (plural commessi, feminine commessa)^[1]

Etymology

It is the past participle of commettere used as a noun: the employee is one to whom a task is entrusted, and the inlay is made of pieces put together.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The participle continues Latin commissus, from committō (“to bring together; to entrust”), a compound of com- (“with”) and mittō (“to send”).^[7][1] Devoto–Oli explains the sense “employee” through a Medieval Latin use of the participle for an agent or deputy.^[8]

The phrase commesso viaggiatore “travelling salesman” is, according to DELI, a calque of French commis voyageur (1792); English “travelling salesman” may have helped it, but DELI finds the claim that it is an anglicism unproven.^[7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The participle is recorded as an adjective meaning “entrusted” in Giordano da Pisa (1305–1306).^[7] The noun “employee of a shop” is first found in Luca Pacioli before 1510, and the sense “clerk, subordinate employee” in Vincenzo Cuoco in 1801.^[7][3] Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the noun to 1875.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

DEI records the noun in the 15th century for a commercial agent, and earlier, in the 14th century, for a person who had given his goods to a religious house.^[9] Tommaseo explains this old commesso as one who paid a sum to be kept and live with others, com'un commesso allo spedale, “like a lay brother at the hospital”, and also records the sense “substitute, deputy”.^[10]

The art sense, a work of hard stones fixed with mastic on a marble slab, dates from the 16th century;^[8][3][10] Tommaseo says the art was begun in Florence and was also called Florentine mosaic.^[8][3][10] In the 19th and 20th centuries the noun spread through offices: a commesso of a bank, of Parliament, of a court, and in the navy the petty officer in charge of provisions.^[10][11][3] The feminine commessa also means an order for goods, recorded in 1942.^[7]

Timeline

• 1305–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses commesso for “entrusted”.^[7]
• 14th century – The noun is used for a donor to a religious house.^[9]
• Before 1510 – Luca Pacioli uses it for a shop employee.^[7]
• 16th century – The sense “inlay of hard stones” is recorded.^[8][4]
• 1792 – French commis voyageur is recorded.^[7]
• 1801 – Vincenzo Cuoco uses it for a clerk.^[7]
• 1942 – Commessa “order for goods” is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. shop assistant, salesperson (feminine commessa): Ho chiesto alla commessa se avevano la giacca in una taglia più grande.^{[11][8][4][1]}
2. A subordinate employee of a public body or a firm, often in a position of trust: an usher, a messenger: un commesso di banca, i commessi del Senato.^{[11][8][5][1]}
3. (law) An assistant to a court bailiff.^[11][3][4]
4. (nautical) On a warship, the petty officer in charge of provisions.^[8][3][12]
5. (art) An inlay of hard stones fixed with mastic on a marble slab; inlaid work.^{[11][8][5][3]}
6. A decoration made by joining fabrics of different colours.^[11]

Related words

• commettere
• commessa
• commessura
• commissione
• Latin committo

Usage notes

Commesso viaggiatore, a travelling salesman, is now dated.^[3][8] Commesso is also the past participle of commettere, as in un errore commesso per distrazione.^[11][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
6. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ 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
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1031
10. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli