idea

Forms

idea f (plural idee)^[1] An old spelling is ydea.^[2] Corsican has the semi-popular form ieda.^[3]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin idea (“idea, Platonic form”), from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “appearance, form”).^[4][5][6][1] The Greek noun is formed from the root of ἰδεῖν (ideîn, “to see”), the aorist of the verb for “to see”,^[4][5][1] and GRADIT relates it to Latin videō (“to see”).^[6][3]

DEI notes that the word came through medieval philosophy, that Cicero had rendered it with forma or speciēs, and that it spread especially in the 18th century under the influence of French idée (13th century).^[3] DELI, quoting Schiaffini, stresses that the history of the word and of its derivatives ideale, ideazione and ideologia is a European one: French idéation came from English, idéal from German, and idéologie was coined by Destutt de Tracy in 1796.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's earliest dated sense is “outward appearance”, in an Italian translation of Seneca of the 13th century.^[4] The philosophical sense, a mental representation that sums up possible knowledge, the Platonic form, is in Dante's Convivio (1304–1308).^[4][2][6]

Semantic evolution

In the Platonic and Neoplatonic sense the word named the eternal models of things in the mind of God, and by extension the divine mind itself.^[7] The general senses followed: “mental content” in Marsilio Ficino (before 1499), “any representation of the mind” in Bandello (1554), “plan, intention” before 1590, “clever find” in Campanella (before 1639) and “opinion” in 1651.^[4] The sense “ideology, doctrine behind a movement” is recorded before 1835, and “rough notion” (non ne ho idea) in Tommaseo–Bellini in 1869.^[4]

The use of un'idea for “a tiny amount”, as in “add a touch of salt”, is a common metaphor found also in popular French and in Romanian.^[4][8] Of the derivatives, ideale is in Dante, its use as a noun follows French idéal, and idealismo (1798) follows French idéalisme.^[4][5]

Timeline

• 13th century – An Italian translation of Seneca uses it for “appearance”.^[4]
• 13th century – Ideare “to conceive” is recorded in Inghilfredi.^[4]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses it in the philosophical sense in the Convivio.^[4][2]
• Before 1499 – Marsilio Ficino uses it for “mental content”.^[4]
• 1554 – Bandello uses it for “any representation of the mind”.^[4]
• Before 1639 – Campanella uses it for “a clever find”.^[4]
• 1798 – Idealismo is recorded.^[4][5]
• 1869 – Tommaseo–Bellini records the sense “rough notion”.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. idea, notion: a representation formed by the mind of something real or abstract: l'idea di libertà.^[6][8][9]
2. (philosophy) In Plato, the eternal form of which things are copies; in Kant and Hegel, a concept of reason.^[6][10][11]
3. A rough or elementary notion: non ho la minima idea di dove sia.^[6][8]
4. A thought of something possible: l'idea di partire mi mette di buon umore.^[6]
5. opinion, view, (plural) convictions, beliefs: un uomo di idee progressiste.^[6][9][12]
6. A plan or intention; a clever find: le è venuta un’idea brillante.^[12][4][9]
7. The central theme of a work: l'idea di fondo del romanzo.^[9][10][12]
8. (colloquial) A tiny amount, a touch: solo un’idea di zucchero.^[8]

Word family

• ideale
• idealismo
• idealista
• idealistico
• idealità
• idealizzare
• idealizzazione
• idealmente
• ideare
• ideatore
• ideazione

Related words

• ideologia
• Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa)
• Latin idea
• French idée

Usage notes

Set phrases include neanche per idea (not at all), idea fissa (fixed idea, obsession), rendere l'idea (to get the point across) and farsi un'idea (to form an impression).^[6][10][11] The GDLI has a separate adjective Idea in Madre Idea, Cybele, from Latin Idaea, “of Mount Ida”, and an old botanical name idea for elecampane.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1914
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 7, 202
8. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
10. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli