Etymologically
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inglese

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Pronunciation

  • /inˈɡle.ze/[1]
  • Traditional: /inˈɡle.se/[1]

Forms

inglese m or f by sense (plural inglesi)[1] Older forms are inghilese (before 1321, Dante) and inghilesco (before 1331, Immanuel Romano).[2][3] Inghilese remained a popular and rustic Tuscan form until the late 19th century.[2][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French engleis (“English”), a 12th-century French word for what belongs to the Angles.[2][5][6][1] The French word is formed on the people's name, Old English Engle (“the Angles”), Latin Angli.[5][6][7] Devoto and Treccani trace it to the Old English adjective anglisc (“of the Angles”), and DEI compares Late Latin Angliscus.[8][9][3]

The country's name Inghilterra came by the same route: Old English Engla land (“land of the Angles”) was rendered as French Angleterre and adapted in Italian.[5][3] Sabatini–Coletti explains the ⟨i⟩ of the older form as inserted for ease of pronunciation.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is Dante, in the form inghilese: in Paradiso XIX he speaks of the pride “that makes the Scot and the Englishman mad” (che fa lo Scotto e l'Inghilese folle).[2][4][6] The form inglese appears in Ariosto's Orlando furioso (1516).[2][11]

Semantic evolution

From the 19th century the adjective is recorded for things associated with England and for things traditionally thought to come from there.[2] Many names of objects and dishes contain it: chiave inglese (adjustable spanner), zuppa inglese (a trifle-like dessert, in its modern sense from the 19th century), sale inglese (Epsom salt), corno inglese (cor anglais) and giardino all'inglese (landscape garden).[3][12][7] Andarsene all'inglese, to leave without saying goodbye, is recorded from the 20th century;[2][3] DELI sees no anecdote behind it, but one of the many mocking phrases peoples attach to their neighbours: the English and the Germans call the same habit French.[2][3]

Italian inglese was borrowed into Ottoman Turkish, whence Turkish İngiliz, and into Arabic, Persian and Armenian; Modern Greek Εγγλέζος (Englézos) is also a borrowing from it.[1]

Timeline

  • 12th century – Old French engleis is recorded.[2]
  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses inghilese.[6][2]
  • Before 1331 – Immanuel Romano uses inghilesco.[2]
  • 1516 – Ariosto uses the form inglese.[2]
  • 1757 – Saverio Bettinelli uses inglesismo for an anglicism.[2]
  • 1869 – Tommaseo–Bellini records the adjective for things associated with England.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. English, of England; loosely also British: la campagna inglese.[6][13][10][1]
  2. Traditionally thought to come from England: chiave inglese, zuppa inglese.[6][12][2]

Noun

  1. An Englishman or Englishwoman; loosely, a British person.[6][10][1]
  2. The English language: Studia inglese da tre anni.[6][10][9][1]
  3. English as a school or university subject: l'insegnante d'inglese.[6][10]

Word family

  • inglesismo
  • inglesizzare
  • inglesità
  • inglesume
  • antinglese

Usage notes

All'inglese means in the English manner, and andarsene or filarsela all'inglese to slip away without saying goodbye.[12][9][7] Fare l'inglese is to pretend not to understand.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2030
  4. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c 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 c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  10. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  12. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier