gemito

Forms

gemito m (plural gemiti)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word: it is borrowed from Latin gemitus (“groan”), from gemō (“to groan”).^[2][3][4][1] The Latin noun is formed with the suffix of action nouns, -tus.^[1][5] It lives on as a popular word in Romanian geamăt.^[2][6]

De Vaan notes that most scholars connect the verb with Ancient Greek γέμω (gémō, “to be full”), although the change of meaning is hard to imagine.^[7] He cites Vine's proposal instead: a link with γέγωνα (gégōna, “to shout so as to be heard”), with Latin *-m-* taken from verbs such as fremō (“to roar”) and tremō (“to tremble”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Arrighetto (1304–1313), for a low or stifled cry of pain: “I weep at night and weep again and double my groans” (La notte piango e ripiango e raddoppio i gemiti).^[8][9] The TLIO's first record is in Zucchero's Florentine commentary on the Pater noster, of the early 14th century.^[10] Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the word only to the second half of the 15th century.^[11][12]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used the word for sighs, for the sound of weeping, for an expression of contrition, for a sound of pleasure in erotic contexts, and for the cry of an animal.^[10] Battaglia also records it for a baby's cry.^[9] Tasso has the hero press down “the groans and the cares” in his heart.^[4] In hunting, the gemito is the cry of a roe deer or hare caught by the dogs.^[13] The figurative gemito del vento is the moaning of the wind, as in Verga.^[3][14]

Timeline

• 1304–1313 – Arrighetto uses gemiti.^[8]
• Early 14th century – Zucchero uses the word in Florence.^[10]
• Before 1313 – GRADIT's date of first record.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A groan or moan, a soft lament or quiet weeping; also figurative, of the wind.^[4][15][1]
2. A stifled cry from a strong emotion: un gemito di piacere.^[4][3]
3. (figurative) The distress that causes such cries.^[4]
4. The plaintive cry of an animal; a whimper.^[4][13]

Related words

• gemere
• Latin gemitus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1781
3. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
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. 6, 641
10. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
11. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
12. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
15. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse