Etymologically
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considerare

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Pronunciation

  • /kon.si.deˈra.re/[1]

Forms

considerare (first-person singular present consìdero, first-person singular past historic considerài, past participle consideràto, auxiliary avére)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin cōnsīderāre (“to examine, to observe”).[2][3][4][1] The Latin verb is formed on sīdus (“star, constellation”) with the prefix con-, so that it first meant “to observe the stars”, a term of the augurs who read omens in them; contemplare and desiderare have a similar background.[3][2][5][6] The noun considerazione is cōnsīderātiō.[2][3]

The Latin verb was also inherited in some Romance languages: Engadine, Old French consirer (“to observe”), Old Occitan cossirar and Catalan consirar, with cossire (“care, worry”).[5][7] The learned forms are French considérer and Spanish considerar.[3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Tomaso di Sasso, a Tuscan poet of the first half of the 13th century;[9][10] Zingarelli dates the word to about 1250.[9][10] DELI's first dated sense is “to examine carefully in all its bearings”, in Bono Giamboni before 1292.[2]

Semantic evolution

Brunetto Latini, before 1294, used the verb for “to bear in mind, to take into account”, and Dante in the Convivio (1304–1308) for “to judge, to deem”.[2] Ulysses' words in Inferno 26 are its best-known use: Considerate la vostra semenza: / fatti non foste a viver come bruti, “consider your origin: you were not made to live as brutes”.[11][12] Guittone used the construction considerare in and Machiavelli considerare di, “to judge of”.[13]

The sense “to provide for”, of a law or code, appears in Salvini before 1729.[2] Derivatives followed: considerabile (Guicciardini, before 1540), considerevole (Baretti, before 1789) and sconsiderato, already in the 13th century.[2][3]

Timeline

  • First half of the 13th century – Tomaso di Sasso has the first record.[9]
  • 1282 – Considerazione appears in Restoro d'Arezzo.[2]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses considerare “to examine carefully”.[2]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for “to bear in mind”.[2]
  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for “to judge, to deem”.[2]
  • Before 1729 – Salvini uses it for “to provide for”.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (transitive) To consider, to examine carefully in all its aspects: Dobbiamo considerare tutte le alternative.[4][14][10]
  2. (transitive) To look at attentively.[4][14]
  3. (transitive) To bear in mind, to take into account: Considera che il treno parte all'alba.[4][14][15]
  4. (transitive) To regard, to deem: La considero la mia migliore amica.[4][14][15]
  5. (transitive) To esteem, to think highly of: In paese è molto considerato.[4][14][10]
  6. (intransitive, absolute) To reflect, to weigh things up: considera bene prima di firmare.[4][14][16]
  7. (transitive, law) Of a law or code, to provide for, to cover a case.[4][14][15]
  8. (reflexive, considerarsi) To consider oneself: Si considera fortunato.[14][16][10]

Word family

  • considerazione
  • considerato
  • considerabile
  • considerevole
  • considerando
  • sconsiderato
  • sconsideratezza
  • riconsiderare

Usage notes

Tutto considerato means “all things considered”.[14][16]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1069
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  9. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  10. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3, 596
  12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  13. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 323
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  15. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  16. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana