entrare

Forms

entrare (first-person singular present éntro, first-person singular past historic entrài, past participle entràto, auxiliary èssere)^[1] The old form is Old Italian intrare.^[2][3][1] As a noun, entrare “entrance; beginning” is recorded from the 13th century.^[4][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin intrō (“to go into”), from intrā (“inside, within”).^[5][6][3][1] The Latin verb is panromance: French entrer, Occitan entrar, Catalan entrar, Spanish entrar, Portuguese entrar, Sardinian intrare and Romanian intra.^[6][7]

In southern Italy the verb was replaced by ⟨trasire⟩, from Latin trāns (“across”) and eō (“to go”).^[8] GRADIT connects the Latin adverb with ⟨*interus⟩ “inner”, and Devoto saw a blend with the adverb ⟨intro⟩ “inwards”.^[9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Ritmo di Sant'Alessio, from the Marche, in the 12th century, for passing from outside to inside.^[4] DELI's first dates are about 1284 for being admitted to a group, and Bono Giamboni before 1292 for going into a place.^[5][6][9]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the verb was often strengthened with dentro or with a, and could be used transitively, “to enter a place”.^[8][4][11] Dante uses it for beginning something (1304–1308), and Ariosto's Orlando furioso (1532) for fitting into something.^[5]

The noun entrata meant “entering” and “entrance” (Bono Giamboni, before 1292), and, from 1292 also “income, revenue”.^[5][7] Entratura “easy access to influential people” is in Benedetto Varchi before 1565.^[5] Sabatini–Coletti date the sense “to have to do with”, now entrarci, to the 18th century.^[3]

Timeline

• 12th century – The Ritmo di Sant'Alessio uses the verb.^[4]
• 13th century – Patecchio of Cremona uses the infinitive as a noun.^[4]
• c. 1284 – It is used for being admitted to a group.^[5][6]
• 1292 – Entrata “income” is recorded.^[5]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for beginning.^[5]
• 1532 – Ariosto uses it for fitting into something.^[5]
• 18th century – Entrarci “to have to do with” appears.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To enter, go in or come in, pass from outside to inside: Siamo entrati dalla porta sul retro.^[9][2][3]
2. To fit into something, go in, be contained; of a number, to go into another number.^[9][3][12]
3. To fit into clothes or shoes; of clothes, to fit someone.^[9][3][12]
4. (figurative) Of a thought or feeling, to get into someone.^[9][3]
5. To join a group or association; to take up a job or start a career.^[9][12]
6. To come into a new state or period: entrare in vigore.^[9][2]
7. (theatre) To come on stage.^[12][13]

Word family

• entrata
• entratura
• entrante
• rientrare
• sottentrare
• subentrare

Related words

• entrarci
• dentro
• entro
• uscire
• Latin intrō

Usage notes

Entrare takes essere.^[1][2] Entrarci means “to fit in” and, figuratively, “to have to do with”: che c'entra? “what has that got to do with it?”.^[14][3] Fixed phrases include entrare in scena “to come on stage; to come into play” and entrare da un orecchio e uscire dall'altro “to go in one ear and out the other”.^[2][14][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 d e f g h i Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1488
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 163
11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5
12. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
14. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli