impegnato

Forms

impegnato (feminine impegnata, masculine plural impegnati, feminine plural impegnate, superlative impegnatissimo)^[1]

Etymology

It is the past participle of impegnare (“to pawn; to commit”), used as an adjective.^[2][3][4][5] The verb (13th century) is formed from pegno (“pledge”) with the prefix in-, and Medieval Latin had impignare in 1164.^[2][3][4] The noun is inherited from Latin pignus (“pledge, security”).^[3][1]

Several senses of the verb and of impegno, including the recent political and literary ones, translate French engager and French engagement, and purists rejected them for that reason.^[2] The sense “politically committed” matches German engagiert and French engagé.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, in Daniello Bartoli (before 1685), means “pawned”: people went begging to redeem a breviary that had been pawned.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The sense “busy, occupied” is recorded in 1837 in a Piedmontese periodical, which says a man is “all impegnato” in putting his library in order;^[2] “booked, reserved” follows in 1886.^[2] Older texts also used the word for a person in debt and for someone eager or involved in a cause.^[7][8]

In 1950 Migliorini recorded the word for an intellectual or cultural movement that takes a clear position on the political and social problems of the day, and in 1967 a writer explained a song as impegnata “as they say now”, comparing German engagiert.^[2] In Cold War politics paesi non impegnati were the non-aligned countries.^[9][10][6] In colloquial use a person who is impegnato is already in a relationship.^[4][11]

Timeline

• Before 1685 – Daniello Bartoli uses impegnato for “pawned”.^[2]
• 1837 – It is recorded for “busy”.^[2][3]
• 1886 – L'Arena uses it for “reserved”.^[2]
• 1950 – Migliorini records the sense “politically committed”.^[2][9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. busy, having commitments; taken up with an activity: Sabato sono impegnato tutto il giorno con il trasloco.^[4][5][9]
2. committed: of an artist, intellectual or work, taking a position on the political and social problems of the time: un cantautore impegnato.^[4][5][11]
3. Pawned: Riuscì a riscattare l'anello impegnato.^[5][9][1]
4. Bound by a promise or obligation.^[5][9][11]
5. Booked, reserved: Tutti i tavoli sono impegnati per stasera.^[5][9]
6. (colloquial) In a relationship, not single.^[4][11]

Related words

• impegnare
• impegno
• pegno
• disimpegnato

Usage notes

Paesi non impegnati is an older name for the non-aligned countries.^[9][6] The superlative is impegnatissimo.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
10. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana