Etymologically
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interessato

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Pronunciation

  • /in.te.resˈsa.to/[1]

Forms

interessato (feminine interessata, masculine plural interessati, feminine plural interessate, superlative interessatissimo)[1]

Etymology

It is the past participle of interessare (“to interest; to concern”), used as an adjective and a noun.[2][3][4][5] The verb was formed on interesse, a learned word from Medieval Latin interesse, a legal term for “advantage, profit”: the classical infinitive of the impersonal Latin interest (“it matters”), literally “it is between”, from inter (“between”) and esse (“to be”), used as a noun.[6][2][7] GRADIT sets French intéresser, recorded in 1423, beside the Italian verb, and DELI notes that the purists of the early 19th century rejected several of its senses as French.[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is the noun, in the 14th-century statutes of the Florentine silk guild, for a person who has an interest in something.[6][5] The adjective “having an interest” is first found in Benvenuto Cellini, before 1571, of a man with a stake in selling a large diamond to the Duke.[6][4]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century interessato took the moral sense “greedy, out for one's own advantage”: DELI's first record is Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger (1618), whose Fiera lists Interessati, avari, e ambizïosi (“the self-interested, the greedy and the ambitious”).[6][8] The opposite disinteressato followed in the same century.[2]

The economic sense “having a share in a business” is still used, and modern Italian adds “affected by”, of areas reached by bad weather or organs reached by disease.[7][3][9] In bureaucratic use l'interessato is the person concerned, and il diretto interessato the person most directly involved.[7][9][10]

Timeline

  • 14th century – The noun interessato appears in the statutes of the Arte della Seta.[6][5]
  • Before 1571 – Cellini uses the adjective.[6][4]
  • 1618 – Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger uses it for a self-seeking person.[6]
  • 17th century – Disinteressato is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. interested (in something, with a): Sono molto interessato al tuo progetto.[7][3][5][1]
  2. Having a share or a stake in a business or affair (with in): È interessato in una società di trasporti.[7][3][5]
  3. self-interested, acting for one's own gain; of an act, dictated by self-interest: Quel regalo mi sembra un gesto interessato.[7][3][5][1]
  4. Affected or involved (with da): Il quartiere interessato dai lavori resterà chiuso al traffico.[7][3][9]

Noun

  1. A person who is interested in something: Gli interessati riceveranno una lettera.[7][9][1]
  2. (bureaucratic) The person concerned: il diretto interessato.[7][9][10]

Word family

  • interessatamente
  • disinteressato

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  5. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana