infedeltà

Forms

infedeltà f (invariable)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian infidelitade, Old Italian infedelitade, Old Italian infedelità and Old Italian infedeltade.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin infidēlitās (“faithlessness, inconstancy”), from infidēlis (“faithless”) with the suffix -tās.^{[3][4][5][6][1]} The Latin adjective is fidēlis (“faithful”) with the negative prefix in-, and fidēlis is derived from fidēs (“faith; loyalty”).^[4][7]

The oldest Italian forms keep the Latin shape, infidelitade and infedelità; the modern form, recorded from Guicciardini, follows the simple noun.^[3][5][2] Wiktionary takes the word as probably inherited, and as in- and fedeltà by surface analysis.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first records are a Sienese translation of Cassian from the late 13th century, with the sense “lack of faith in God”, and Giordano da Pisa's Florentine Lenten sermons of 1306.^[2] DELI starts with infidelitade in the 14th-century Ottimo commentary on Dante.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used the word for a lack of loyalty to someone or of keeping one's word, for unbelief and neglect of Christian duties, and for a statement that does not match the truth.^[2] The religious sense is now obsolete.^[8][5]

The form infedelità is in Benvenuto da Imola's commentary, translated before 1390, for the disloyalty of a king towards the Aetolians;^[3][7] infedeltà appears in Guicciardini, before 1540.^[3][7] In modern Italian it is above all marital infidelity, and the inaccuracy of a translation, account or portrait.^[5][9]

Timeline

• Late 13th century – A Sienese translation of Cassian has the word for unbelief.^[2]
• 1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses it in his Lenten sermons.^[2]
• 14th century – Infidelitade in the Ottimo commentary.^[3]
• Before 1390 – Infedelità in the translation of Benvenuto da Imola.^[3][5]
• Before 1540 – Guicciardini writes infedeltà.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (invariable) Unfaithfulness to one's commitments or word, disloyalty: l'infedeltà di un alleato.^[5][10][11]
2. (invariable) Unfaithfulness in love, especially in marriage, infidelity.^[5][10]
3. (invariable) Lack of accuracy or truthfulness: l'infedeltà di una copia.^[5][10][12]
4. (invariable) An act of unfaithfulness, a betrayal: perdonare un'infedeltà.^[5][10][12]
5. (invariable, obsolete) Lack of religious faith, unbelief.^[5][8][2]

Related words

• fedeltà
• infedele
• fedele
• fede
• Latin infidēlitās

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ 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
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
10. ^ 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
11. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
12. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana