nocente

Forms

nocente m or f by sense (plural nocenti)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin nocēns (“harmful; guilty”), the present participle of noceō (“to harm”), the verb that also gave nuocere.^[1][2][3][4] Zingarelli and Gabrielli list it as the present participle of the Italian verb, used as an adjective.^[5][6] In the sense “guilty” it is the opposite of the much commoner innocente.^[3][4]

The Latin verb goes back to Proto-Italic *nokeje- (“to cause death”) and Proto-Indo-European *noḱ-eie- (“to make disappear, cause death”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word before 1347.^[2] The GDLI's first quotation is from Bartolomeo da San Concordio, who calls the enemies of the republic nocentissimi, “most harmful, most wicked”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The adjective meant both “harmful” and “wicked”.^[8][4] Francesco da Barberino wrote of gente malvagia e nocente, “wicked and harmful people”.^[8][9] The sense “guilty” appears in Boccaccio: l'innocente fuggendo s'era fatto nocente, “the innocent man, by fleeing, had made himself guilty”.^[2][4]

Later poets used it of plants and places: Luigi Alamanni of le molte erbe nocenti, “the many harmful herbs”, and Tasso of a wood d'ombre nocenti, “of baneful shadows”.^[9][6] Tommaseo–Bellini noted that it was not used in speech.^[9] As a noun it means a guilty person.^[10][6]

Timeline

• Before 1347 – the first record GRADIT gives; the GDLI quotes Bartolomeo da San Concordio.^[2][8]
• 1861 – Tommaseo–Bellini notes that the word is not used in speech.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (literary) harmful, noxious; nocivo.^{[2][3][11][4][1]}
2. (archaic) guilty; colpevole.^{[2][3][11][4][1]}
3. (archaic) wicked, malevolent.^[8][6]

Noun

1. (archaic) a guilty person.^[10][6]

Related words

• innocente
• nocivo
• nocumento
• nocuo
• nuocere

Usage notes

The word is also the present participle of nuocere.^[5][6][9] An old and dialect nocente meaning “innocent” is a separate word, shortened from innocente.^[8][12] It is recorded at Pisa in the 14th century, and in Tuscany i Nocenti was the name of the foundling hospital.^[12][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ a b c d 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 d e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d e f Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ a b c d e f g Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ a b c d e Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
11. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
12. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2593