domare

Forms

domare (first-person singular present dómo or dòmo, first-person singular past historic domài, past participle domàto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin domāre (“to tame, subdue”).^[2][3][4][5] DEI, REW and Nocentini treat it as a word kept from Latin, as in Catalan domar, Spanish domar and Portuguese domar, while DELI classes it as a learned word, taken with the derivatives domabile and domatore from Latin domābilis and Late Latin domātor.^[6][5][2][7]

The Latin verb goes back to Proto-Italic *domaō, from Proto-Indo-European *domh₂éyeti, a causative of the root Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- (“to tame”).^[1][8] De Vaan sees the vowel of the suffix and the lack of a nasal present as signs of an old causative, and lists Ancient Greek δάμνημι (dámnēmi, “to tame, subdue”) and Hittite and Celtic verbs as cognates.^[8] Nocentini compares Old High German zamōn (“to tame”), German zähmen and the English word tame, and links the root with domus (“house”), so that the verb would first have meant “to make domestic”.^[2] Devoto places the word in a family tied to the domestication of animals.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur of the last quarter of the 12th century; its first sense is to make an animal tame or obedient to man.^[10] DELI's first records are in Bono Giamboni, before 1292, with the senses “to make tame”, “to make docile and obedient” and “to subdue”.^[7] Giamboni writes that not only knights but horses too must be broken by daily toil (Non solamente i cavalieri, ma i cavalli si convengono spesso domare con cotidiana fatica).^[11]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used the verb for subjecting people and countries, for overcoming storms, for holding a passion or impulse in check, and for making an object malleable.^[10] Dante uses it for curbing passions.^[12] The modern senses are the same: to tame a wild animal or break in a horse, to make a rebellious person obedient, to subjugate a people, to put down a revolt or put out a fire, and to control one's instincts.^[3][4][13] Italian translated the title of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew as La bisbetica domata.^[14]

Timeline

• 1175–1200 – The Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur has the first record.^[10]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses the verb for taming, making obedient and subduing.^[7]
• Early 1300s – Guido da Pisa uses domatore.^[7]
• 1570 – Domabile is recorded in Palladio.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To tame a wild or fierce animal; to break in a horse or mule for riding or work: domare un puledro selvatico.^{[3][4][13][1]}
2. (figurative) To make a rebellious person obedient: un bambino capriccioso che nessuno riesce a domare.^[3][4][13]
3. (figurative) To subdue, subjugate a people or country.^{[3][4][13][1]}
4. (figurative) To quell or put down: domare la sommossa, domare un incendio.^{[3][4][13][14]}
5. (figurative) To control or curb instincts and passions.^[3][1]
6. (literary) To make malleable;^[1][10] (rare) to wear in clothing.^[1][10]

Word family

• doma
• domatore
• domatrice
• domatura
• domabile
• domo
• indomito
• ridomare

Related words

• domitore
• indomo
• domestico
• Latin domō

Usage notes

The first person is dómo or dòmo; the short participle domo survives as a literary adjective.^[13][14][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1377
7. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
12. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 388
13. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)