infiammare

Forms

infiammare (first-person singular present infiàmmo, first-person singular past historic infiammài, past participle infiammàto, auxiliary avére)^[1] Old Italian also has enfiammare, Old Italian infiamare and northern forms such as Old Italian enflamare and Old Italian enfiambare.^[2][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin inflammāre (“to set on fire”).^[3][4][5][1] The Latin verb is formed with the prefix in- “in, into” on flammō (“to blaze, set on fire”), a verb made from flamma (“flame”).^[4][6][7][8] The noun Latin inflammātiō, from the same verb, was itself a translation of Ancient Greek φλεγμασία (phlegmasía) in its medical sense.^[9]

The same Latin verb gave French enflammer, Occitan enflamar and Catalan enflamar.^[10][9][11] Latin flamma goes back through Proto-Italic *flagmā to Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥g- (“to shine, gleam”), the root also of Latin flagrō (“to blaze”) and Latin fulgō (“to flash”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the poems of Rinaldo d'Aquino, of the first half of the 13th century, in a Tuscan copy.^[2][4] Among the senses DELI dates, the figurative reflexive “to be seized by a strong feeling” comes first, before 1301 in Pucciandone Martelli, and the reflexive “to catch fire” is in Dante.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used the verb of fire, of the heat of the sun and of fever, and above all figuratively of rousing passion, courage or anger.^[2] The literal “to make burn with flames” is dated before 1347 in Bartolomeo da San Concordio, who also has “to colour red”;^[3] Villani has “to fill with fervour” before 1363.^[3] The medical sense “to cause inflammation” appears in the 14th-century Libro della cura delle febbri, and the reflexive “to become inflamed” in Citolini in 1561.^[3]

The derivatives followed later: infiammazione (as infiammagione in Villani, before 1363), infiammabile (before 1537, Biringuccio), infiammabilità (18th century) and infiammatorio (1714, Muratori).^[3] In cooking the verb now also means to flambé a dish.^[12][7][5]

Timeline

• 1200–1250 – Rinaldo d'Aquino uses the verb.^[2]
• Before 1301 – Pucciandone Martelli uses the reflexive of being seized by a passion.^[3]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses infiammarsi of catching fire.^[3]
• Before 1347 – Bartolomeo da San Concordio uses it for setting on fire and for colouring red.^[3]
• Before 1363 – Villani has the sense “to fill with fervour”.^[3]
• 14th century – The medical sense “to cause inflammation” is recorded.^[3]
• 1561 – Citolini has the reflexive “to become inflamed” in medicine.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To set on fire, make burn with flames; reflexive infiammarsi, to catch fire: Il fiammifero infiammò le foglie secche.^[5][6][13]
2. To colour red or make glow; of the face, to make flush; reflexive, to blush or turn red.^[5][14][6]
3. (figurative) To inflame, fill with passion or enthusiasm; to stir up, incite; reflexive, to be carried away by a feeling or to grow heated.^[5][6][13]
4. (medicine) To cause inflammation, irritate; reflexive, to become inflamed: Il fumo gli ha infiammato gli occhi.^[5][6][15]
5. (cooking) To flambé a dish, pour spirits over it and set them alight.^[6][7][12]

Word family

• infiammazione
• infiammabile
• infiammabilità
• infiammatorio
• infiammato
• disinfiammare
• rinfiammare
• infiammamento

Related words

• fiamma
• Latin inflammō
• French enflammer

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 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
4. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
8. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
9. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2017
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
12. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
15. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana