eccellente

Forms

eccellente m or f by sense (plural eccellenti, superlative eccellentissimo)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian escellente, Old Italian excellente and Old Italian ecciellente.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin excellens (“distinguished, excellent”), the present participle of excellō (“to rise above, surpass”).^{[4][5][6][1][7]} Zingarelli calls it a learned word, and the LEI lists it among the learned forms of the Latin adjective.^[6][8]

DELI analyses the Latin verb as “to rise beyond everyone”, from ex- (“out, beyond”) and a verb *cellō (“to rise”) that is not recorded on its own.^[4] Nocentini compares that verb with Lithuanian kélti (“to lift”) and links it to the root of colle and colmo; it also lies behind eccelso and gelso.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Dante's Vita nuova, about 1292–1293, in the sense “at the top of a scale of value”.^[2][4] Dante writes of words ne le quali io dessi ad intendere de le sue mirabili ed eccellenti operazioni (“in which I might make known her marvellous and excellent workings”).^[9]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the adjective meant superior to others in some respect, highly skilled in an art, and, as a noun, a person of the highest worth; it was also an honorific attribute.^[2] Dante asks in the Paradiso: Vedi se far si dee l'uomo eccellente (“See whether a man should make himself excellent”).^[9] The related noun eccellenza is recorded in 1305–1306 and as a title of rulers and high officials before 1348.^[4] DELI quotes Migliorini on how freely the title Eccellenza was granted under Fascism, until a decree of 1945 abolished it, though it stayed in use.^[4]

The literal sense “high, lofty”, used of places, is now obsolete.^[6][10] In journalism the adjective describes events involving prominent public figures, as in arresti eccellenti.^[11][6] Sabatini–Coletti traces this to Francesco Rosi's film Cadaveri eccellenti (1976).^[12][11][6]

Timeline

• About 1292–1293 – Dante uses eccellente in the Vita nuova.^[2][4]
• 1305–1306 – Eccellenzia appears in Giordano da Pisa.^[4]
• Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses eccellenza as a title.^[4]
• About 1485 – The verb eccellere is recorded in Sannazaro.^[4]
• 1945 – A decree abolishes the title Eccellenza.^[4]
• 1976 – Francesco Rosi's film Cadaveri eccellenti comes out.^[12]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of a person: excellent, outstanding, superior to others in skill or merit: È un'eccellente pianista.^[10][11][6]
2. Of a thing: of the highest quality; of food and drink, delicious: Questo formaggio è eccellente.^[10][11][13]
3. (journalism) Involving prominent public figures: Nell'inchiesta sono finiti diversi nomi eccellenti.^[11][12][6]
4. (archaic) An honorific title of illustrious people.^[11][12][14]

Word family

• eccellentemente
• eccellentissimo
• sopreccellente

Related words

• eccellenza
• eccelso
• eccellere

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 21, 1267
9. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5, 10
10. ^ a b c De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
11. ^ 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
12. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli