comporre

Forms

comporre (first-person singular present compóngo, first-person singular past historic compósi, past participle compósto or compòsto, first-person singular imperfect componévo, auxiliary avére)^[1] The older form is Old Italian componere, still used by Francesco da Barberino and Cavalca.^[2][3] Northern and central-southern Italy had Old Italian componére, and the Venetian form is componèr.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin compōnere (“to put together, arrange; to settle”), formed from com- (“with”) and pōnō (“to put”), the source of porre.^[5][6][7][1] Latin compōnō is recorded from Plautus.^[4] The Tuscan form arose when the post-tonic vowel was lost and the /n/ assimilated to the /r/, a change chiefly of Old Florentine that spread to the standard language.^[4][8]

The same Latin verb is Romanian compune, Friulian compòni, Romansh cumponer, Spanish componer, Portuguese compor, Occitan compondre and Catalan compondre; French composer was refashioned after poser.^[4][6][9] The learned derivatives come from the Latin past participle compositus: composito, compositore, composizione.^[5][6]

De Vaan explains pōnō as an old compound of sinō (“to let, allow”) meaning “to put down”, and takes the root back to Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- (“to settle, dwell”).^[10][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Ritmo di sant'Alessio, from the Marche in the second half of the 12th century, where it means to arbitrate a settlement between an injured and a guilty party.^[11] DELI's first record, in Guittone d'Arezzo before 1294, has the sense “to put parts together into a whole”: o cibo il qual Dio di vertù compone (“O food that God composes of virtue”).^[5][12]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used the verb for making up a whole, preparing food and medicines, raising troops, laying out the limbs of a corpse, writing a text, and making peace between enemies.^[11] DELI dates the sense “to write a literary or artistic work” to Lapo Gianni (before 1328), “to compose the face or limbs” to Passavanti (1354), and “to reconcile” to a 15th-century translation of Petrarch.^[5]

With printing, comporre became setting type, recorded in Ruscelli in 1558;^[5] the compositore was a typesetter from before 1566 and a composer of music from 1492.^[5] The verb was later extended to dialling a telephone number and later to typing a code or password.^[7][13]

Timeline

• Second half of the 12th century – The Ritmo di sant'Alessio uses the verb for arbitrating a settlement.^[11]
• 1282 – Composizione is recorded in Restoro d'Arezzo.^[5]
• Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses comporre “to put together”.^[5][7]
• Before 1328 – Lapo Gianni uses it for writing a work.^[5]
• 1354 – Passavanti uses it for composing the face and limbs.^[5]
• 1558 – Ruscelli uses it for setting type.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To put together parts into a whole: comporre un mazzo di rose.^[7][3][13]
2. (transitive) To make up, constitute;^[7][13][14] comporsi di: to consist of: La squadra si compone di undici giocatori.^[7][13][14]
3. (transitive) To dial a telephone number; to type a code: comporre il PIN.^[7][3][13]
4. (transitive, also intransitive) To compose a literary or musical work: comporre un sonetto.^[7][3][8]
5. (transitive) To arrange, tidy (hair, clothes); to lay out a dead body.^[7][13][14]
6. (literary) To compose the face into an expression: comporre il viso a un sorriso.^[7][13][14]
7. (transitive) To settle a dispute; to reconcile two parties.^[7][8][13]
8. (printing) To typeset; formerly, to set movable type in words and lines.^[7][13]
9. (obsolete) To decide or agree on something.^[7][13]

Word family

• componimento
• componente
• componibile
• compositore
• composizione
• composta
• composto
• compostezza
• decomporre
• ricomporre
• scomporre

Related words

• porre
• Latin compōnō
• French composer

Usage notes

Comporre is conjugated like porre (compongo, composi, composto).^[1][3] The infinitive is also used as a noun for the act of writing, as in esercitarsi nel comporre.^[15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 316
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 16, 541
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c 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 k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
12. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3, 419
13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)