compunto

Forms

compunto (feminine compunta, masculine plural compunti, feminine plural compunte)^[1] Old forms include componto and northern compunita.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin compunctus, the past participle of compungō (“to prick; to afflict”), a learned word.^[3][4][5][6] Italian took over the verb as compungere in the 13th century, and the adjective also serves as its past participle.^[5][7][8]

The Latin verb is formed from con- and pungō (“to prick”); in Church Latin it came to mean “to grieve, to fill with remorse”.^[3][1] The LEI calls the Italian forms semi-learned and compares Old French compoint (“afflicted”), Catalan compunt (1497) and older Portuguese compuncto (1624).^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bono Giamboni's translation of Orosius, from before 1292, has compunti for people stung by a keen, painful feeling.^[9] The TLIO's earliest text is a Veronese legend of Saint Catherine from the early 14th century, where the word means “spurred in the soul”, eager to do something, usually in a spiritual sense.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Dante brought the word into literature: “Allor, come di mia colpa compunto” (“Then, as if stricken by my fault”), and in the Inferno “ch'avea lo cuor quasi compunto” (“whose heart was nearly pierced”).^[5][10][11] In the 14th century it meant stricken with grief or remorse, very often in a religious sense: Cavalca's passengers on a ship, facing death and compunti a penitenza, make peace with one another.^[11][2][12]

Modern Italian uses it mostly for a look or manner: a face or bearing that shows contrition, and often a show of humility that is not sincere;^[10][13][8] Manzoni describes a stern gravity turning into a gravità compunta e pensierosa.^[10][13][8] An old noun compunto meant “compunction” in a Bible translation.^[11]

Timeline

• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses compunti in his translation of Orosius.^[9]
• Early 14th century – A Veronese legend of Saint Catherine has compunti.^[2]
• About 1313 – Dante uses compunto in the Commedia.^[9]
• Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani writes compunto da Dio.^[9]
• Before 1374 – Petrarch uses it in the Canzoniere.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Contrite: showing sorrow and repentance, especially in a religious sense: Uscì dalla chiesa compunto.^{[13][7][6][1]}
2. Putting on an air of humility or mortification, often hypocritically; solemn: un tono compunto.^{[13][8][6][1]}
3. (archaic) Afflicted, grieved.^[14][11]

Word family

• compuntamente

Related words

• compungere
• compunzione
• pungere
• Latin compunctus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c 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 Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
7. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c d e f Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 16, 754
10. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli