esempio

Forms

esempio m (plural esempi)^[1] Old Italian had many forms, among them Old Italian esemplo, Old Italian essempio, Old Italian essemplo, Old Italian assempio, Old Italian assemplo, Old Italian assempro and Old Italian asempro.^[2][3][4] Old Perugian had Old Italian ascempio (1342).^[5]

Etymology

It is a learned or semi-learned word, borrowed from Latin exemplum (“sample; model; example”).^[6][7][8][1] DEI calls it semi-learned and spread by the medieval schools,^[9] and Sabatini–Coletti explains the many old variants as different degrees of closeness to the Latin model.^[4] The popular, inherited outcome of the same Latin word is scempio.^[4][10][1]

The Latin noun comes from eximō (“to take out, set apart”), from ex- (“out”) and emō (“to take; to buy”): the Latin noun was literally something taken out and set aside to serve as a model.^[6][7][8] It goes back to a form Latin *exemlom, with a /p/ inserted between /m/ and /l/;^[7][11][1] Leumann found the voiceless /p/ unusual and thought it might be due to exēmptus.^[1] The Latin word is continued as French exemple (12th century), Old Occitan eissemple, Spanish ejemplo and Portuguese exemplo.^[7][10][9]

The forms with ⟨-pi-⟩ show the Italian change of /pl/ to /pj/, while those with ⟨-pl-⟩ and ⟨-pr-⟩ stay closer to Latin.^[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Proverbia quae dicuntur, a Venetian poem of the last quarter of the 12th century.^[2] DELI's first dated sense is “a case that confirms or illustrates a statement”, in Bono Giamboni before 1292, in the form esemplo.^[6]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian an esempio was often a story told to edify and to prove a point, above all the moral tale of the preachers, the medieval exemplum.^[2][4][12] The word also meant a model to follow or avoid, a person held up as such (esemplo in Giordano da Pisa, 1303–1306), a lesson or warning, the original of a text from which copies were made, and a copy itself.^[6][2][3] Dante has the painter's model: “come pintor che con essemplo pinga” (like a painter who paints from a model).^[8]

The form esempio is first found in the Bible translations at the end of the 14th century, and the phrase per esempio is of the same century.^[6][9] In 1528 Claudio Tolomei uses the word for a word, phrase or passage quoted to support a grammatical rule or a definition, the sense of dictionary examples.^[6] The sense “a member that stands for its whole class”, as in a building that is an example of a style, is in the modern dictionaries.^[8][13][3] Esempio can also mean an exemplary punishment, given to warn others.^[13][14]

Timeline

• Late 12th century – First record, in the Venetian Proverbia quae dicuntur.^[2]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses esemplo for a case that illustrates a statement.^[6]
• Before 1313 – The verb esemplare “to copy, imitate” is recorded.^[6][7]
• 1303–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses esemplo for a model of virtue or vice.^[6]
• 1342 – Perugian statutes have ascempio for an original text and a copy.^[5]
• Late 14th century – The form esempio appears in the Bible translations.^[6]
• About 1528 – Claudio Tolomei uses the word for a quotation that illustrates a rule.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person, action or behaviour seen as a model to imitate or avoid: Suo nonno era un esempio di generosità.^[8][13][3]
2. A lesson or warning; an exemplary punishment meant to deter others: Che questo errore ti serva da esempio.^[13][4][14]
3. An example, a particular case that illustrates or confirms a general statement: Fammi un esempio, così capisco meglio.^[8][13][12]
4. A sentence or passage quoted in a dictionary or grammar to illustrate a use.^[8][13][3]
5. A typical member of a class or kind: Quella villa è un esempio di architettura liberty.^[8][13][3]
6. (medieval literature) A short edifying story, an exemplum.^[4][12][8]
7. (obsolete) The original of a text; a copy.^[3][8]

Word family

• esemplare
• esemplarità
• esemplificare
• esemplificazione
• esemplificativo
• controesempio

Related words

• scempio
• Latin exemplum
• French exemple

Usage notes

Per esempio and ad esempio introduce an example and are abbreviated p. es. or ad es.; they can also soften a suggestion.^[12][3] Other phrases are dare il buon esempio (to set a good example), prendere esempio da qualcuno (to follow someone's example) and senza esempio (unprecedented).^[13][12][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ a b c Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 22, 152
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1535
10. ^ a b Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
13. ^ a b c d e f g h Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli