compagnia

Forms

compagnia f (plural compagnie)^[1] An old form in the same sense is Old Italian compagna.^[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian compagno + -ia, from compagno (“companion”).^[4][5][6][7] Wiktionary takes it as the older Old Italian compagna, from Vulgar Latin *compānia, reshaped with the suffix ⟨-ia⟩.^[1] Meyer-Lübke likewise separates the old ⟨compagna⟩, which matches Old French compaigne, Old Occitan companha, Catalan companya, Spanish compaña and Portuguese companha, from ⟨compagnia⟩, which matches French compagnie, companhia, Spanish compañía and companhia.^[2] Devoto–Oli takes the commercial sense as a calque on English company.^[8][9]

⟨Compagno⟩ is Late Latin compāniō, literally “one who shares bread”, from com- (“with”) and pānis (“bread”).^[7][6] Its first records are in the Salic Law of the 6th century, which also has compānium “group of companions”.^[3][6] It was long explained as a calque on a Germanic soldiers' word, Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌱𐌰 (gahlaiba, “messmate”), and Nocentini and Devoto still give this view, but the LEI follows Bork (1980) in rejecting it and taking the word as a Late Latin formation.^[3][6][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the sense “association, organisation”, in the Tuscan statute Breve di Montieri of 1219.^[7][4] The TLIO's first text is the Venetian Proverbia super natura feminarum.^[11]

Semantic evolution

At the end of the 13th century the Novellino uses compagnia for being together with others, Brunetto Latini, before 1294, for a group gathered for pleasure or a shared activity, and Bono Giamboni, before 1292, for a troop of armed men under a captain.^[7] Dante's Virgil and Dante walk “taciti, soli, sanza compagnia” in Inferno 23.^[12] In Old Italian compagna and compagnia could also mean a man's wife or the woman he lived with.^[3]

The trading company is recorded in German as Kompanie in the 14th century.^[13] The compagnie di ventura, mercenary bands, the Compagnia di Gesù and the great colonial companies of the 17th and 18th centuries belong to later history.^[4][14] The theatre company is recorded in Lorenzo Magalotti, before 1712.^[7] Tuscan proverbs say chi ha compagnia ha signoria and la buona compagnia è mezzo pane.^[12] Turkish borrowed the word as kumpanya.^[1]

Timeline

• 6th century – Late Latin companio and companium in the Salic Law.^[3]
• 1219 – Compagnia “association” in the Breve di Montieri.^[7]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for a troop of soldiers.^[7]
• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for a group of people.^[7]
• End of the 13th century – The Novellino uses it for being together.^[7]
• 14th century – German Kompanie “trading company” is recorded.^[13]
• Before 1712 – Lorenzo Magalotti uses it for a theatre company.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. company, being together with others: Mi piace cenare in compagnia., fare compagnia a qualcuno, to keep someone company.^[4][8][5]
2. A group of friends who go about together: È uscito con la solita compagnia.^[4][5][14]
3. A theatre troupe: compagnia teatrale.^[4][5]
4. (military) A company, the unit of a battalion under a captain; in the Middle Ages, a band of armed men.^[4][5][14]
5. A religious order or confraternity: la Compagnia di Gesù.^[4][5]
6. A craft guild or workers' association.^[4][5]
7. A commercial company, especially in insurance and transport: compagnia aerea, airline, compagnia di bandiera, national carrier.^[4][5][1]
8. (history) A colonial trading company: la Compagnia delle Indie.^[4]

Word family

• accompagnare
• scompagnare

Related words

• compagna
• compagnone
• pane
• French compagnie

Usage notes

Fixed phrases include dama di compagnia “lady's companion”, animale da compagnia “pet”, essere di compagnia “to be sociable” and … e compagnia bella “and so on, and all the rest”.^[14][15][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
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. 16, 187
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
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 Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
9. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 104
11. ^ Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
12. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
14. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli