Etymologically
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condividere

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 05:33. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /kon.diˈvi.de.re/[1]

Forms

condividere (first-person singular present condivìdo, first-person singular past historic condivìsi, past participle condivìso, auxiliary avére)[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian con- + dividere (“to divide”).[2][3][4][1] DEI calls it a learned word.[5] The Italian Wiktionary explains the base as Latin cum (“with”) and dīvidō (“to divide”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Girolamo da Siena's Adiutorio, written before 1420, where graces are condivise e distribuite, “shared out and distributed”, among others.[2][7][8] The sense is to divide something together with other people.[7]

Semantic evolution

The word long remained rare: DEI dated it only to the 19th century.[5] Tommaseo defined it as dividing among several people and complained that it was overused in the figurative sense of French partager.[9] That figurative sense, having ideas or feelings in common with others, is first recorded in Panzini in 1920, and in the 20th century Pirandello and Pavese wrote of sharing another's indignation or another's pains.[2][8]

With computing and the social networks of the 2000s and 2010s came the sense of making content such as links, photos or files available to others online.[6][10][11] The concrete sense of dividing something with others is now less common than “to have in common” and “to agree with”.[10][12]

Timeline

  • Before 1420 – Girolamo da Siena uses condividere “to share out”.[2][7]
  • 19th century – DEI's date for the word.[5]
  • 1920 – Panzini uses it for sharing an opinion.[2][8]
  • 2000s – The sense of sharing content online spreads with the social networks.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To have in common with others, often of ideas and feelings: Condividiamo l'amore per la montagna.[4][10][11]
  2. To agree with or approve of: Non condivido la vostra scelta.[4][13][12]
  3. (computing) To make content available to others on a social network or online service: Ha condiviso le foto della festa.[10][11]
  4. To share a thing with others, divide it among them, or use it together: Condivido la stanza con mio fratello.[10][14][11]

Word family

  • condivisibile
  • condivisione
  • condiviso
  • dividere

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1051
  6. ^ a b c Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
  7. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  8. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana