Etymologically
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dichiarare

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Pronunciation

  • /di.kjaˈra.re/[1]

Forms

dichiarare (first-person singular present dichiàro, first-person singular past historic dichiarài, past participle dichiaràto, auxiliary avére)[1] Older forms include Old Italian dechiarare, common in Umbria, Rome and the north.[2][3] The older Old Italian dischiarare, with the same meanings, is treated by the LEI as a derivative of Latin clārus.[2][4] In Piedmont the verb is Piedmontese diciarè.[2]

Etymology

It continues inherited from Latin dēclārō (“to make clear; to announce officially”), a compound of dē- and clārō (“to make bright, illuminate”), itself from clārus (“clear, bright”).[5][6][7][8][1] Nocentini adds that the Italian form was remade after chiaro.[6][9] The sources differ on how the verb came into Italian: Meyer-Lübke left it out of his dictionary as a learned word and Alessio called it a learned adaptation supported by the Occitan and French verbs,[2][10] while the LEI thinks it seems to continue the Latin verb in popular form.[2] The Latin participle and its derivatives gave dichiarato, dichiarativo, dichiaratore and dichiarazione.[5]

The Latin verb was also taken over as a learned word elsewhere: Old French declarer (before about 1250), Old Occitan declarar (before 1230), Catalan declarar (13th century), Spanish declarar (about 1250) and Portuguese declarar.[2][6]

The Latin verb is recorded from Lucretius.[11] De Vaan traces the adjective to Proto-Italic *klāro- (“loud”) and Proto-Indo-European *klh₁-ro- (“loud, sonorous”); the shift from “loud” to “clear, bright” is paralleled by Old High German hel (“loud”) beside German hell (“bright”).[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Parlamenti of the Bolognese Guido Faba, about 1243.[3] DELI dates the sense “to state firmly, affirm solemnly” to Guido Guinizelli (before 1276) and “to make clear, make manifest” to Bono Giamboni (before 1292).[5] In Inferno 28 Dante asks a shade: Dimostrami e dichiara (“show me and make clear”).[12]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the verb covered making known, explaining, settling a question and stating something with authority, including formal testimony in law.[3] The old sense “to explain, interpret”, as in commenting on a canto of Dante, is now literary.[12][13][4] Prati records dichiarare la guerra “to declare war” from 1547.[14]

The reflexive dichiararsi, “to show oneself, claim to be”, appears in Machiavelli (before 1527), and he also uses the verb for stating one's opinions (1522–1525).[5] Goldoni has dichiararsi in the sense “to declare one's love” (1750).[5] Modern Italian uses the verb above all in official contexts: declaring income to the tax office or goods at customs, and proclaiming a state of emergency or a couple husband and wife.[7][15] In bridge and other card games it means to bid.[7][12]

Timeline

  • c. 1243 – Guido Faba's Parlamenti give the first record.[3]
  • Before 1276 – Guido Guinizelli uses the verb for a solemn statement.[5]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for “to make clear”.[5]
  • Before 1342 – Dichiarazione is recorded in Domenico Cavalca.[5]
  • 1547 – Dichiarare la guerra is recorded.[14]
  • Before 1527 – Machiavelli uses the reflexive dichiararsi “to show oneself”.[5]
  • 1750 – Goldoni uses dichiararsi for confessing one's love.[5]
  • 1796 – Dichiarante, the person making a statement, is recorded.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To make known, express openly or solemnly: Le ha dichiarato i suoi sentimenti in una lettera.[7][15][8]
  2. To state or affirm firmly, often officially: Il testimone dichiara di non aver sentito nulla.[7][15][4]
  3. To declare to an authority, report: Bisogna dichiarare i redditi entro giugno.[7][8][4]
  4. (of an office) To certify, attest in writing.[15][8]
  5. To proclaim officially, with a predicate: Il giudice lo ha dichiarato innocente; also of war, a strike or a state of emergency.[7][13][4]
  6. (literary) To explain, interpret an obscure text.[13][4]
  7. (card games) To bid, especially in bridge.[7][13]
  8. (reflexive, dichiararsi) To declare oneself, show one's position; also to confess one's love: Si è dichiarato contrario alla proposta.[13][4]

Word family

  • dichiarante
  • dichiarativo
  • dichiarato
  • dichiaratore
  • dichiarazione
  • dichiarabile
  • dichiaramento
  • dichiaratorio
  • ridichiarare

Usage notes

Set phrases include dichiarare guerra, dichiarare fallimento and dichiarare forfait.[7] The formula io sottoscritto dichiaro che… opens written declarations.[7][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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. 19, 565
  3. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  10. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1289
  11. ^ a b 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 c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 4, 352
  13. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  14. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 375
  15. ^ 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