contrapporre

Forms

contrapporre (first-person singular present contrappóngo, first-person singular past historic contrappósi, past participle contrappósto or contrappòsto, first-person singular imperfect contrapponévo, auxiliary avére)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian contraporre and Old Italian contrapponere.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin contrapōnō (“to place opposite”), formed from Latin contrā (“against”) + pōnō (“to put”).^[5][6][7][8] Battisti and Alessio and the GDLI call it a learned adaptation of the Latin verb, and its shape follows that of porre.^[9][2] Wiktionary treats it as inherited.^[1] Devoto saw in it the Latin verb crossed with Italian contra- and the simple verb.^[10]

The Oxford Latin Dictionary notes that the Latin verb is usually written separately.^[11] The same Latin verb gave Spanish contraponer, Portuguese contrapor, Catalan contraposar, French contraposer, Romanian contrapune and Sardinian contrapònnere, and English borrowed it as contrapose and counterpose.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in a Tuscan text of Andrea da Grosseto (1268), in the sense “to set one thing against another”.^[4][3] DELI's first example, from Simintendi (before 1333), has the same sense.^[5] The GDLI quotes him on a river that runs quietly until gli erano contraposte travi o sassi (“beams or stones were set against it”), when it foams and boils.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Already in Old Italian the verb was used reflexively, “to set oneself against, oppose”, and in the sense “to place facing”.^[4] DELI dates the reflexive contrapporsi to Andrea da Barberino, before 1431.^[5] Leonardo used the sense “to place in front of”, of the objects reflected in a mirror.^[2] Tommaseo records a physical use, of a weight set against another as a counterweight.^[12]

The sense “to compare” is now marked obsolete by Zingarelli.^[3] Modern dictionaries add a reciprocal use, of two things that stand in contrast with each other.^[7][13] The derivatives contrapposizione (14th century) and contrapposto (13th–14th century) are as old as the verb, and contrapponibile appears in 1865.^[5]

Timeline

• 1268 – Andrea da Grosseto uses the verb, the first record.^[4][3]
• 13th–14th century – Ugurgieri uses contrapposto “placed opposite”.^[5]
• Before 1333 – Simintendi uses it for “to set against”.^[5]
• 14th century – Contrapposizione appears in a translation of Saint Augustine.^[5]
• Before 1431 – Andrea da Barberino uses the reflexive contrapporsi.^[5]
• 1865 – Contrapponibile is recorded by Tommaseo and Bellini.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To set against, oppose: to put one thing against another as an obstacle or as a contrast: contrapporre i fatti alle promesse.^{[14][13][7][15]}
2. (transitive) To set side by side, compare.^[14][8]
3. (reflexive, contrapporsi) To set oneself against someone or something, to resist it.^{[13][7][15][3]}
4. (reciprocal, contrapporsi) To be in contrast with each other: Le loro proposte si contrappongono.^[13][7][3]

Word family

• contrapposto
• contrapposizione
• contrapponibile
• contrapponimento

Related words

• porre
• opporre
• Latin contrapōnō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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, p. 3, 679
3. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
9. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1080
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 114
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ a b De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
15. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana