inspirare

Forms

inspirare (first-person singular present inspìro, first-person singular past historic inspirài, past participle inspiràto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin īnspīrō (“to breathe into, blow upon”).^[2][3][4][1] The Latin verb is formed from in- (“in, into”) and spīrō (“to breathe, blow”).^[2][3][1] It is the same Latin word as ispirare, its doublet;^[3][1][5] Devoto explains that the prefix ⟨in-⟩ was kept intact here to bring out the contrast with ⟨e-⟩ in espirare.^[3][1][5] The same word is French inspirer and Spanish inspirar.^[3]

De Vaan suggests that the simple verb may imitate the sound of breathing; it has no direct cognates.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Zingarelli dates the word to before 1374, and DEI records it in the 14th century in the sense “to inspire”.^[7][8] DELI's first record of the modern sense is from C. Nappi, before 1518, in the physiological sense “to draw air into the lungs”.^[2][4] The GDLI quotes Nappi's line Deh! posa, posa, signor, l'arco e inspira (“Ah, rest, rest, lord, your bow and breathe”).^[9]

Semantic evolution

In older Italian inspirare was also used, and spelled enspirare, in the sense now kept by ispirare, “to inspire”;^[8][7][9] DEI dates that use to the 14th century and Zingarelli dates the word to before 1374.^[8][7][9] Tommaseo advised keeping the form with n for the bodily sense, and that is the division modern Italian makes.^[10][4]

The derivatives followed the physiological sense: inspirazione is recorded in 1551 in G. B. Gelli, inspiratore for a muscle in 1833, and inspiratorio in 1957, after French inspiratoire (1833).^[2] Today the sense “to inspire” is literary or archaic.^[11][12][1]

Timeline

• Before 1374 – Zingarelli's date for the word.^[7]
• Before 1518 – C. Nappi uses it for breathing in.^[2]
• 1551 – G. B. Gelli uses inspirazione.^[2]
• 1833 – Inspiratore is recorded for a muscle of breathing.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To inhale, breathe in: to draw air or another substance into the lungs; also used without an object: Inspira lentamente e trattieni il fiato.^{[4][13][12][14]}
2. (uncommon) To introduce air or oxygen artificially into someone's lungs.^[4][12][14]
3. (figurative) To breathe life or the vital spirit into a body.^[4][13][1]
4. (literary, archaic) To inspire.^{[12][11][15][1]}

Word family

• inspiratore
• inspiratorio
• inspirazione
• inspirabile

Related words

• ispirare
• espirare
• respirare
• spirare
• Latin īnspīrō

Usage notes

Inspirare (to breathe in) is the opposite of espirare (to breathe out).^[11] The sense “to inspire” belongs to ispirare in modern usage.^[7][13]

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 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 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 Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2052
9. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli