Etymologically
Log in

intelligente

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 21:11. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /in.tel.liˈd͡ʒɛn.te/[1]

Forms

intelligente m or f by sense (plural intelligenti, superlative intelligentissimo)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin intelligens (“understanding”), the present participle of intelligō (“to understand, perceive”).[2][3][4][1] The Latin verb, also spelled intellegō, is formed from inter (“between”) and legō (“to gather, pick, choose”), and so first meant “to choose between, distinguish”, then “to perceive, understand”.[3][2][5] DEI compares French intelligent, recorded in 1488.[6] The same Latin word gave Spanish inteligente.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the first record before 1276.[4] DELI's first date is in Dante, before 1321, for a being “able to understand, think and judge”: in the Paradiso he says that free will was given to “the intelligent creatures”, all of them and they alone.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The sense “gifted with particular mental abilities”, a clever person, is in Domenico Cavalca before 1342, and the sense “done or said with intelligence”, as of an answer or a remark, is recorded in 1869.[2] In philosophy intelligente was also a noun, the subject that understands.[7] The literary sense “expert, connoisseur of something” is found in Ariosto.[8][9]

The noun intelligenza is older than the adjective in DELI's records (before 1276, Pannuccio dal Bagno); in the 19th century the purists treated its use for a person of great intellect as a French loan.[2] Recent Italian uses intelligente for weapons and devices with electronic control, such as bomba intelligente.[4][7] The Latin saying intelligenti pauca, “a few words are enough for the intelligent”, is used in Italian from the 19th century.[6]

Timeline

  • Before 1276 – The noun intelligenza is first recorded, in Pannuccio dal Bagno.[2]
  • Before 1276 – GRADIT's date for intelligente.[4]
  • Before 1321 – Dante writes of le creature intelligenti.[2][7]
  • Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses it for a clever person.[2]
  • 1488 – French intelligent is recorded.[6]
  • 1869 – It is recorded for something done or said with intelligence.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Endowed with intellect, able to understand and reason: l'uomo, essere intelligente.[4][10][8]
  2. clever, quick to understand and learn: È una bambina molto intelligente.[4][10][9]
  3. Showing unusual skill and understanding in one's work: un regista intelligente.[4][10]
  4. Of animals, able to understand signs and learn behaviour: I corvi sono uccelli intelligenti.[4][10][8]
  5. Done or said with intelligence; showing intelligence: una domanda intelligente, uno sguardo intelligente.[4][10][8]
  6. (literary) Expert, knowledgeable in something.[8][9]
  7. (technology) Controlled by a computer or designed to perform a task automatically: bomba intelligente.[4][7]

Word family

  • intelligenza
  • intelligibile
  • inintelligente
  • intelligentemente
  • intelligentone

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2057
  7. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  8. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  9. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  10. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier