Etymologically
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commissione

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 20:30. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /kom.misˈsjo.ne/[1]

Forms

commissione f (plural commissioni)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin commissiō, a noun from committō (“to bring together; to entrust; to commit”).[2][3][4][1] Classical Latin used it for the beginning or holding of games and contests and for a joining or union;[5][2][3] the sense “committing (of a sin)” is in late Latin, and the senses “mandate, order” come from Medieval Latin, where commissio “mandate” is recorded from 1202.[6] The prefix is com- and the verb mittō (“to send”).[1]

The sense “group of people entrusted with a public task” is a calque of English commission, according to DELI, Nocentini and Devoto–Oli.[2][3][7] The derivatives commissionare and commissionario follow French commissionner (15th century) and French commissionnaire (1506).[2][3][6] The same learned word is French commission, Catalan comissió (before 1272) and Spanish comisión (1331).[6]

Old Italian had many forms, among them Old Italian commessione, Old Italian comission and Old Italian chomessione.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a Verona document of 1266, with the sense “task to be carried out for someone, mandate”.[8] The sense “committing, carrying out (of an act)” is in Andrea da Grosseto's Tuscan translation of Albertano of Brescia (1268), and Siena's Costituto of 1309–1310 uses the plural for unlawful acts.[8][6]

Semantic evolution

DELI dates “task for others” to Giordano da Pisa (1305–1306), “order, command” to the 14th century (commessione) and to Poliziano, before 1494 (commissione), and “order for goods” to Vasari (1550).[2] Already in Old Italian the word could mean a fee for a task, and the TLIO lists phrases such as lettera di commissione, a letter stating the terms of a mandate.[8] Some 16th-century texts still use the Latin sense “joint, union”.[6]

The sense “committee” appears in the Gazzetta universale in 1780.[2] Commissionario, an agent who buys or sells for a principal, is recorded in 1723 and commissionare “to order” in 1797, in the minutes of the provisional Municipality of Venice.[2] In theology a peccato di commissione (a sin of commission) is set against a sin of omission, and in law commissione is still the committing of an offence.[4][6]

Timeline

  • 1266 – A Verona document uses commissione for a mandate.[8]
  • 1268 – Andrea da Grosseto uses it for the carrying out of an act.[8]
  • 1305–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses it for a task done for others.[2]
  • 1550 – Vasari uses it for an order for goods.[2]
  • 1723 – Commissionario is first recorded.[2]
  • 1780 – The sense “committee” appears in the Gazzetta universale.[2]
  • 1797 – Commissionare appears in Venetian minutes.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A task or errand carried out for someone else, su commissione “to order”: Il pittore lavora solo su commissione.[4][7][9]
  2. A commission or fee paid to an agent or intermediary, or to a bank for a service.[4][10][1]
  3. (often plural) Personal errands and small purchases: Esco a fare qualche commissione.[4][10][11]
  4. A committee or board entrusted with a task, often a public one: commissione d'esame, commissione d'inchiesta.[4][9][1]
  5. (commerce) An order for goods or work; the document that records it.[4][7][9]
  6. (law) The committing of an offence: la commissione del delitto.[4][9][1]

Word family

  • commissionare
  • commissionario
  • sottocommissione

Usage notes

GRADIT and Treccani treat the sense “committing (of an act)” as a separate headword, from Latin committō in the sense “to carry out”;[4][12][2][6] DELI and the LEI treat it as one word with the rest.[4][12][2][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 15, 1521
  7. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d e f Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  9. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  12. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana