Etymologically
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interessante

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 20:15. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /in.te.resˈsan.te/[1]

Forms

interessante m or f by sense (plural interessanti, superlative interessantissimo)[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian interessare + -ante, the present participle used as an adjective.[2][3][4][5][6] DELI and Treccani note the influence of French intéressant (1718), which is why the purist Antonio Cesari opposed the word.[2][7]

Interessare is a denominal verb from interesse, a learned word from Medieval Latin interesse, the Latin infinitive of intersum (“to be between; to matter”) used as a noun in the Middle Ages.[2][3] Nocentini describes it as a legal term meaning “advantage, profit”, from the impersonal use “it matters”, literally “it is in between”.[3] The Latin verb is formed from inter- (“between”) and sum (“to be”).[2] Panzini wrote that the noun, the verb and the adjective had been taken from French long ago but were so common that condemning them was pointless.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Francesco Algarotti's Lettere filologiche (1756), and the word is also in Antonio Cocchi before 1758, in the sense “arousing interest”.[2][6] Cocchi writes of osservazioni naturali e interessanti “natural and interesting observations”.[8]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th and 19th centuries the word kept a foreign flavour: Tommaseo–Bellini quotes Fanfani's judgment that it is “not a nice word” when used as an adjective.[9] It became common all the same, for what is worth attention, for an advantageous price or offer, and for a person who attracts others by qualities of mind.[10][11][4] The euphemism in stato interessante means “pregnant”, and fare l'interessante means to put on airs in order to attract attention.[4][6][7]

Timeline

  • 1718 – French intéressant is recorded.[2]
  • 1756 – Algarotti uses interessante.[2]
  • Before 1758 – Antonio Cocchi uses it.[2]
  • 1861–1879 – Tommaseo–Bellini reports objections to its use as an adjective.[9]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. interesting: arousing attention or curiosity: Ieri sera ho visto un documentario molto interessante.[11][4][5][1]
  2. Attractive in economic terms, advantageous: Mi hanno fatto un'offerta interessante per la macchina.[11][4][7]
  3. Of a person, attractive for qualities of character or mind: Al convegno ho conosciuto una donna davvero interessante.[11][4][5]
  4. (euphemistic) in stato interessante: pregnant.[11][4][6]

Word family

  • ininteressante

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 Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  8. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 8, 228
  9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  11. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET