coprire

Forms

coprire (first-person singular present còpro, first-person singular past historic coprìi or copèrsi, past participle copèrto, auxiliary avére)^[1] The old and poetic form is Old Italian covrire, with cuoprire and a present cuopro.^[2][3][4] Sabatini–Coletti explain the /v/ of covrire as probably due to French couvrir, through the northern dialects.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin cooperīre (“to cover completely”), formed with co- on operiō (“to cover, close”).^[6][7][8][1] The unstressed vowel before the stress was lost in the normal way.^[9] The past historic copersi follows the pattern of perdere and morire.^[1]

The same Latin verb gave French couvrir, Occitan cobrir, Catalan cobrir, Spanish cubrir, Sardinian cobèrrere and Romanian acoperi.^[7][10]

Latin operiō forms a pair with its opposite aperiō (“to open”).^[7] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *op-wer-i- (“to cover up”), with the root Proto-Indo-European *h₂wer- (“to cover”).^[11][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Venetian Proverbia quae dicuntur of the late 12th century.^[12] DELI's first date is Bono Giamboni (before 1292), for covering something to hide, close, adorn or shelter it, and for protecting or defending.^[6] Giamboni writes of using raw hides to cover war machines.^[13]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to conceal, dissemble” is in Inghilfredi in the 13th century, and the reflexive “to cover one's body with clothes” in Jacopone da Todi (before 1306).^[6] Dante writes li orecchi con le man copersi “I covered my ears with my hands”.^[13] In the 14th century the verb was also used of a male animal mating.^[14][15]

Later senses come from finance, office and distance: “to guarantee” in Paolo Sarpi (1619), “to hold a post” in Parini (before 1799), “to cover a distance” in Alfredo Oriani (1897–1902), and the reflexive “to protect oneself against risk” in banking (1927).^[6] DEI sees the financial sense and coprirsi “to put one's hat on” as modelled on French couvrir and se couvrir.^[14] The noun coperto “place setting” is a calque of French couvert, and most compounds in copri- (coprifuoco, copricapo) follow French ones such as couvre-feu.^[6][7]

Timeline

• Late 12th century – The Venetian Proverbia quae dicuntur has the first record.^[12]
• 13th century – Inghilfredi uses coprire for “to conceal”.^[6]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for “to cover” and “to protect”.^[6]
• Before 1306 – Jacopone da Todi has the reflexive coprirsi.^[6]
• 14th century – Coprifuoco “curfew” is formed on French couvre-feu.^[7]
• 1619 – Paolo Sarpi uses it for financial cover.^[6]
• Before 1799 – Parini uses it for holding an office.^[6]
• 1897–1902 – Alfredo Oriani uses it for covering a distance.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To cover: to put something over, in front of or around something to protect, hide or close it: Copri il pane con un tovagliolo.^[8][2][5][1]
2. Of a thing: to lie over, to spread over a whole surface: Il muschio copriva i sassi.^[8][2][5]
3. To wrap up, to clothe against cold or sun, coprirsi, to dress warmly: Copriti, fuori nevica.^[8][2][5]
4. To protect, to defend; in military use, to shield from enemy fire: coprire la ritirata.^[8][4][5]
5. (figurative) To hide or cover up a fault; to shield someone who is guilty.^[4][5][16]
6. To drown out a sound: Il rumore del treno copriva la sua voce.^[2][4][16]
7. To heap with, to shower with: coprire di baci, coprire di insulti.^{[5][4][16][1]}
8. To meet or guarantee a cost or debt: coprire le spese.^[4][8]
9. To hold a post or office.^[5][4]
10. To travel a distance: Ha coperto cinquanta chilometri in due ore.^[5][4]
11. Of a service, to reach every part of an area: Il segnale copre tutta la valle.^[8]
12. (zootechnics) Of a male animal, to mate with a female.^[4][16]

Word family

• coperta
• copertina
• coperto
• copertone
• copertura
• copricapo
• coprifuoco
• copriletto
• sopraccoperta
• ricoprire
• scoprire

Related words

• coperchio
• aprire
• Latin operio

Usage notes

Coprire le spalle a qualcuno is to protect someone, to watch their back.^[2][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 117
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
13. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3, 755
14. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1098
15. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
16. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana