maturare

Forms

maturare (first-person singular present matùro, first-person singular past historic maturài, past participle maturàto, auxiliary (transitive) avére or (intransitive) èssere)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin mātūrō (“to ripen”), a verb formed from mātūrus (“ripe”).^[2][3][4][1] The REW lists it with the popular outcomes Sardinian madurare, Romansh madürer, Friulian madurâ, Old Occitan madurar, Catalan madurar, Spanish madurar and Portuguese madurar, and DEI notes that the verb lives on only in Italy and the western Romance area.^[5][6] The GDLI, however, calls the Italian verb a learned word.^[7]

De Vaan derives the adjective from a noun Proto-Italic *mātu- (“ripeness”), Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-tu- (“ripeness”), perhaps of the same root as mānus (“good”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is an anonymous text from before 1250, in the intransitive sense of fruit and crops coming to ripeness.^[9][2]

Semantic evolution

Iacopone used the transitive verb before 1306 of a tree that nourishes its fruit and then ripens it (conservalo, notrica e puoi 'l matura).^[9][7] Figurative senses followed early: making a person wiser (before 1313, Arrighetto), bringing something to completion (Dante, 1313–1319), and of things coming to fulfilment in the 14th-century life of Cola di Rienzo.^[9] Castiglione applied the intransitive verb to people reaching intellectual maturity (before 1529), Guicciardini used it for weighing a matter at length (before 1540), and the statutes of the Knights of Saint Stephen (1562) used it of sums falling due.^[9]

Medicine used it of an abscess coming to a head, and DEI dates maturagione “suppuration” to 1319.^[6][10] The school leaving examination, the maturità, gave the sense “to pass a candidate”.^[11][10] A proverb says that with time and straw medlars ripen: col tempo e con la paglia maturano le nespole.^[11][10]

Timeline

• Before 1250 – An anonymous text uses maturare of fruit ripening.^[9]
• Before 1306 – Iacopone uses the transitive verb.^[9]
• Before 1313 – Arrighetto uses it for making a person wiser.^[9]
• 1313–1319 – Dante uses it for bringing something to completion.^[9]
• 1319 – Maturagione “suppuration” is recorded.^[6]
• Before 1529 – Castiglione uses it of people growing mature.^[9]
• Before 1540 – Guicciardini uses it for pondering a matter.^[9]
• 1562 – Statutes of the Knights of Saint Stephen use it of sums falling due.^[9]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) Of fruit, seeds and plants, to ripen: In quella valle i fichi maturano presto.^[12][3][10]
2. (intransitive) Of wine, cheese and other foods, to age or season until ready.^[12][3][10]
3. (intransitive) Of a person, to grow mature in mind or character.^[12][13][11]
4. (intransitive, figurative) Of events or circumstances, to develop or come to a head: Il conflitto stava maturando da mesi.^[12][13][10]
5. (intransitive, finance) Of interest or a dividend, to accrue; of a bill, to fall due.^[12][11][10]
6. (intransitive, medicine) Of an abscess, to come to a head; to suppurate.^[12][10][14]
7. (transitive) To make ripe: Il caldo di agosto matura l'uva.^[12][3][11]
8. (transitive) To make someone more mature or wiser.^[12][3][11]
9. (transitive, figurative) To work out an idea, decision or plan after long thought.^[12][13][11]
10. (transitive) To earn a benefit that builds up over time, such as interest or a pension.^[3]
11. (transitive, education) To pass a candidate at the maturità examination.^[3][13][11]

Word family

• maturazione
• maturando
• maturabile
• maturativo

Related words

• maturo
• Latin mātūrus

Usage notes

As an intransitive verb it takes essere, as a transitive verb avere; the pronominal maturarsi is used of ripening and, colloquially, of passing the maturità.^[1][11][13]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ 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
4. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2395
7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c d e f g h Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli