dipingere

Forms

dipingere (first-person singular present dipìngo, first-person singular past historic dipìnsi, past participle dipìnto, auxiliary avére)^[1] The Tuscan form dipignere is old or regional.^[2][3][4] Old Italian also had northern forms such as Veronese depengere (second half of the 13th century).^[5]

Etymology

DELI, Nocentini and GRADIT treat it as learned: it is borrowed from Latin dēpingō (“to paint; to describe”), formed from dē- and pingō (“to paint, colour; to embroider”).^{[6][7][8][1][9]} The LEI, on the other hand, lists the verb among the inherited outcomes of the Latin word, and records that DELI considers it learned.^[5] The Latin verb is recorded from Plautus on, for painting a picture, decorating, embroidering and describing.^[9][10] De Vaan derives the simple verb from a nasal present of the root that most Indo-European languages show as Proto-Indo-European *piḱ-.^[10]

The same Latin verb survives in Engadine and in Gallo-Romance, as French dépeindre “to describe”;^[5][7][11] Nocentini notes that the French verb was remade on peindre.^[5][7][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Giacomo da Lentini, of about 1230–1250: dipinsi una pintura, / bella, voi simigliante (“I painted a picture, beautiful, like you”).^[12][4][6] The sense is to represent something in colours.^[6]

Semantic evolution

By the end of the 13th century the verb also meant to decorate with colour (the Romanzo di Tristano); Giordano da Pisa uses it for painting one's face (1303–1306), and Dante for describing vividly in words.^[6] The TLIO adds figurative uses: a feeling “painted” on the face, God or Nature creating beauty like a painter, and the colours of rhetoric.^[12] The old sense “to embroider” is now obsolete.^[11][13]

Proverbs include il diavolo non è così brutto come lo si dipinge, “things are better than they seem”, and marzo tinge, april dipinge.^[3][14] The participle gave dipinto, a painting, already in Dante, and dipintore “painter” (before 1292).^[6]

Timeline

• 1230–1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses dipingere for painting a picture.^[12][6]
• Before 1292 – Dipintore “painter” is recorded.^[6]
• Late 13th century – The sense “to decorate with colours” appears in the Romanzo di Tristano.^[6]
• 1303–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses the reflexive for making up one's face.^[6]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for describing in words, and dipinto for a painting.^[6]
• 1505 – The form dipingere gains ground over dipignere with Bembo.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To paint, represent artistically with drawing and colour: Ha dipinto il ponte al tramonto.^{[8][2][15][13]}
2. (intransitive) To paint, practise the art of painting: dipingere a olio.^[8][13]
3. To decorate with paintings, fresco.^[8][2][15]
4. To paint, varnish or colour a surface: Dobbiamo dipingere di giallo la cucina.^[8][2][15]
5. (colloquial) To make up the face: dipingersi gli occhi.^[8][2][15]
6. (figurative) To depict, describe vividly in words.^[8][2][13]
7. (literary) To show or express a feeling.^[8][2]
8. (reflexive, of a feeling) To show itself: La sorpresa le si dipinse sul viso.^[13][3]

Word family

• dipinto
• dipintore
• dipintura
• ridipingere

Related words

• pingere
• Latin pingō
• French dépeindre
• English depict

Usage notes

The GDLI lists an obsolete homograph dipingere “to push”, from Latin impingō with a change of prefix.^[16]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
4. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
5. ^ a b c d e Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 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. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
12. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
13. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
15. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
16. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 4, 512