partecipare

Forms

partecipare (first-person singular present partécipo or partècipo, first-person singular past historic partecipài, past participle partecipàto, auxiliary avére)^[1] The older form Old Italian participare, closer to Latin, is now archaic.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin participō (“to make a sharer; to share in”).^[2][5][6][7] The Latin verb is formed from particeps (“sharing, partaking”),^[5][3][8] a compound of pars (“part”) and capiō (“to take”), so that it meant “taking a part”.^[9][10][11] GDLI notes that Latin also had a secondary deponent form of the verb.^[7]

The same Latin verb gave French participer, recorded in 1320, and Spanish participar.^[5][7][10] The older Old Italian participare is the earliest form, and the modern spelling appears in Giovanni Villani.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is participare in the Lent sermons of Giordano da Pisa (1305–1306), meaning “to take part, to be present”;^[2] GRADIT and Devoto–Oli date the verb to 1306, while Zingarelli gives 1268.^[2][9][3][6] The transitive sense “to make known, to announce” is in Bartolomeo da San Concordio, who died in 1347.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the older language the verb often meant to enjoy one's share of a common good, a right or an honour, and in politics to have a share in the government of a city.^[7] Dante writes in the Convivio that some people meno partecipano del nome del filosofo, “have less share in the name of philosopher”,^[7] and Giovanni Villani that certain nobles non partecipavano nell'onore, “had no share in the honour”.^[12] The construction with di, “to share in a nature or quality”, is recorded in Gallo's poems before 1503 and in Machiavelli.^[2]

The transitive use, to give someone a share of something, survives only in literary Italian, and an old sense “to converse” has died out.^[6][13][9] The formal “to announce” is still used for weddings and births.^[4][13] In the 20th century the verb took on a social and political sense, to contribute actively to the life of an institution such as a school, and in school language it is said of a pupil who follows the lessons and takes part in them.^[4][9][3] Partecipazione and partecipante go back to the 14th century, and compartecipare to Late Latin.^[5]

Timeline

• 1305–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses participare for “to take part”.^[2]
• Before 1347 – Bartolomeo da San Concordio uses it for “to make known”.^[2]
• Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani writes partecipare.^[2]
• 14th century – Partecipazione and partecipante are recorded.^[5][10]
• Before 1503 – The sense “to be or become a sharer” is recorded in Gallo's poems.^[2]
• 1857 – Compartecipazione is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To take part, to participate (+ a); to be present at: Quest'anno la nostra scuola parteciperà al torneo regionale.^{[9][3][13][1]}
2. (intransitive) To contribute to, to share in costs, profits or rights: Tutti i soci partecipano ai guadagni della cooperativa.^[9][3][4]
3. (intransitive) Of a pupil, to follow the lessons attentively and take an active part: In classe è sempre attento e partecipa molto.^[9][3]
4. (intransitive) To share in another's feelings (+ a): Partecipiamo di cuore al vostro lutto.^[9][13][6]
5. (intransitive) To share in a nature or quality (+ di): Ogni scelta politica partecipa delle contraddizioni del suo tempo.^[9][3][4]
6. (transitive, formal) To announce, to make known: L'azienda ha partecipato la notizia ai dipendenti con una lettera.^{[13][6][4][1]}
7. (transitive, literary) To share something with others.^[13][6][4]

Word family

• partecipazione
• partecipante
• partecipativo
• partecipabile
• compartecipare
• compartecipazione

Related words

• partecipe
• parte
• Latin particeps
• French participer

Usage notes

Partecipare takes the auxiliary avere.^[1][13] The present is stressed partécipo, with partècipo as a variant.^[1][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 g Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
5. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2784
11. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse