Etymologically
Log in

particolare

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 21:23. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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