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particolare

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word particolare

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1305–1306, Giordano da Pisa
Borrowed from
Latin particularis
Ultimate origin
Latin pars
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pars
French part
Italian parte
Latin particula
English particle
Latin particularis
English particular
Italian particolare
From the same root
Latin expers ← pars
Latin partio ← pars
Latin particulatim ← particula

Pronunciation

  • /par.ti.koˈla.re/[1]

Forms

particolare m or f by sense (plural particolari, superlative particolarissimo)[1] The older form is Old Italian particulare.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Late Latin particulāris (“relating to a part”), from Latin particula (“small part, particle”), the diminutive of pars (“part”).[4][5][6][1] The Latin adjective, used by Apuleius, was opposed to universālis (“universal”), and Boethius has the noun particulāritās.[7] The same word is French particulier, recorded in the 14th century, and Spanish particular.[7][5]

Particolarismo is probably taken from French particularisme, a theological term in 1689 and a general one from 1790.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Giordano da Pisa's Lenten sermons of 1305–1306, as particulare, both as an adjective “relating to a single part, belonging to one thing or person” and as a noun “what concerns a single part”.[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

Philosophy opposed particolare to universale: Dante writes in the Convivio that particular nature obeys universal nature when it gives a man thirty-two teeth.[3] According to Alberto Quaglio, quoted by DELI, the opposition of particulare “private” to “general” arose in the 16th century, but a milder contrast with “common” is already in Boccaccio's Filocolo, where a bishop sets a particulare uomo, a private man, against the son of a king.[4] Particolarità is recorded in Boccaccio (1340–1342), and the noun “detail, element of a whole” in Girolamo Benivieni (before 1542); Galileo used particolari for the precautions taken against error in experiments and calculations.[4][7]

Particolareggiare “to give in detail” is recorded before 1571, and particolarismo is dated 1712 by Nocentini and 1847 (Gioberti) by DELI.[4][5] Amicizie particolari, a euphemism for homosexual relationships, renders the title of Roger Peyrefitte's novel Les amitiés particulières (1944).[4][8][1]

Timeline

  • 1305–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses particulare as adjective and noun.[4]
  • 1340–1342 – Boccaccio uses particolarità.[4]
  • Before 1542 – Girolamo Benivieni uses the noun for an element of a whole.[4]
  • Before 1571 – Lodovico Castelvetro has particolareggiare.[4]
  • 1712 – Particolarismo is recorded.[5]
  • 1944 – Peyrefitte's Les amitiés particulières gives the model for amicizie particolari.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Relating to a part rather than the whole; specific: un aspetto particolare del problema.[6][2][8]
  2. Having its own distinctive features, special: Il tuo è un problema un po' particolare., in particolare, especially.[6][2][8]
  3. Marked, more than usual: Ha mostrato una particolare attenzione per i dettagli.[6][9]
  4. Out of the ordinary, unusual, odd: Ha un modo di vestire molto particolare.[6][9][10]
  5. Belonging to one person or group, not to all; peculiar, characteristic: segni particolari, distinguishing marks.[6][2][10]
  6. private, personal: la segretaria particolare del presidente.[6][2][9]
  7. (euphemistic) Of a friendship, homosexual: amicizie particolari.[8][1]

Noun

  1. The particular, as opposed to the general.[6][11]
  2. A detail: Mi ha raccontato tutto nei minimi particolari.[6][9]
  3. A detail of a work of art reproduced or studied on its own.[6]
  4. (dated) A private citizen without public office.[6]

Word family

  • particolarità
  • particolarmente
  • particolareggiare
  • particolarismo
  • particolarista
  • particolaristico
  • particolarizzare

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2785
  8. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  9. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  10. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Particolare.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/particolare. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·