interessare

Forms

interessare (first-person singular present interèsso, first-person singular past historic interessài, past participle interessàto, auxiliary (transitive) avére or (intransitive) èssere)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian interesse + -are, from the noun meaning “interest”.^[2][3][4][1] GRADIT compares French intéresser, recorded in 1423, and Panzini in the early 20th century held that the noun, the verb and the adjective in ⟨-ante⟩ had all come from French long before, though they were too established to be condemned.^[4][2]

The noun is a learned word, Medieval Latin interesse (“advantage, profit”), a legal term made by using as a noun the infinitive of the impersonal Latin interest (“it matters”), from inter (“between”) and esse (“to be”).^[2][3] inter continues Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér (“between”), an adverb built on *h₁en (“in”), and the verb “to be” continues *h₁es- (“to be”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Francesco Guicciardini (before 1540), in the sense “to bring someone in on one's side, get him to intervene”: in a letter he urges that French help be sought, “cioè di interessarci el re” (that is, to get the king involved for us).^[2][6] Zingarelli dates the verb to 1527.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The verb first belonged to politics and business: to give someone a share or a stake in an affair, and so make him take part.^[6][2] Annibal Caro uses it before 1566 for “to make someone take an interest in something”, and Galileo before 1642 for “to concern closely”.^[2] The sense “to arouse attention or curiosity” is recorded in Sforza Pallavicino (1662), and “to be of use or importance” in Antonio Cocchi (before 1758).^[2][8]

The pronominal interessarsi “to take an interest” appears in Iacopo Pitti before 1589, and “to deal with, see to” in Soderini's treatise on vines before 1597.^[2] Purists of the early 19th century, such as Lissoni in 1831, rejected several of these senses as French, but they spread; the intransitive “to matter” (mi interessa) is recorded in 1812.^[2] Modern Italian also uses the verb for things that affect an area or an organ: a storm or an infection interessa a region or the lungs.^[4][9][7]

Timeline

• 1423 – French intéresser is recorded.^[4]
• 1527 – Zingarelli's date for the verb.^[7]
• Before 1540 – Guicciardini uses it for “to get someone to intervene”.^[2][4]
• Before 1566 – Annibal Caro uses it for “to make someone take an interest”.^[2]
• Before 1589 – Iacopo Pitti uses interessarsi.^[2]
• Before 1642 – Galileo uses it for “to concern closely”.^[2]
• 1662 – Sforza Pallavicino uses it for “to arouse interest”.^[2]
• 1812 – The intransitive “to matter” is recorded.^[2]
• 1831 – Lissoni rejects several senses as foreign.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To interest, to arouse someone's attention or curiosity: Il documentario ha interessato anche i più piccoli.^{[4][9][10][7]}
2. (transitive) To concern, to affect directly: La riforma interessa migliaia di pensionati; also of weather or an illness that affects an area or organ: La perturbazione interesserà le regioni del nord.^{[4][9][10][11]}
3. (transitive, with a) To get someone interested or involved in something: interessare i ragazzi alla lettura.^[4][9][7]
4. (transitive) To get someone to intervene on one's behalf: Ho interessato il sindaco alla questione.^[4][7][11]
5. (intransitive, with essere and a) To matter, to be important to someone: A me interessa solo che tu stia bene.^{[4][9][10][7]}
6. interessarsi (with a or di): to take an interest in, to be keen on: Si interessa di fotografia da anni.^[9][7][11]
7. interessarsi di: to see to, to take care of; also to meddle in: Mi interesso io dei biglietti.^[9][7][12]

Word family

• interessante
• interessato
• interessamento
• disinteressare
• cointeressare

Related words

• interessarsi
• interesse
• disinteresse
• French intéresser

Usage notes

Transitive uses take avere, the intransitive mi interessa takes essere.^[1][7] With a clause as subject the verb is impersonal: non le interessa partire.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b 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. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 8, 228
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli