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raccogliere

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word raccogliere

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
before 1292, Bono Giamboni
Ultimate origin
Latin colligō

Pronunciation

  • /rakˈkɔʎ.ʎe.re/[1]

Forms

raccogliere (first-person singular present raccòlgo, first-person singular past historic raccòlsi, past participle raccòlto, auxiliary avére)[1] The literary and regional form is raccorre.[2][3][1] Old Florentine used only ricogliere.[4]

Etymology

It is an Italian formation from accogliere “to gather” with the prefix ri-, meaning “gather again” or “keep gathering”;[4][5][3][6] DELI also allows a form Vulgar Latin *accolligō reinforced with re-, following the LEI.[4][7] Speakers have long felt it as cogliere with the prefix ra-: Bembo already lists it among words that double the consonant after this prefix.[4][8]

Wiktionary and Meyer-Lübke derive it instead from Latin recolligō (“to gather up again”), influenced by the Italian verb for “to gather”.[1][9] That Latin verb gave French recueillir, Occitan recolhir, Catalan recollir, Spanish recoger and Portuguese recolher.[9] That Italian verb itself continues *accolligō, from ad- and colligō (“to gather”).[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's earliest dated sense is “to bring together, gather” in Bono Giamboni's Libro de' vizî e delle virtudi (before 1292); the variant ricogliere “to pick up from the ground” is in the Novellino at the end of the 13th century.[4]

Semantic evolution

Dante alternates raccogliere and ricogliere, and uses the reflexive for “to turn one's mind” and the pronominal for “to gather round someone”.[4] Boccaccio has the form raccogliere for “to pick up” and for “to welcome” (1348–1353), and Cavalca uses it for gathering the fruits of the earth (before 1342).[4] Collecting objects, as in a collection of coins, appears in the 16th century.[4]

The derived nouns came later: raccolta “harvest; collection” (1572), whence French récolte, and raccolto “crop” (16th century).[4][9] The proverb chi semina vento raccoglie tempesta, “who sows the wind reaps the storm”, uses the agricultural sense.[6] English recoil may have been borrowed once from it, in 1632.[10]

Timeline

  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses raccogliere “to gather”.[4][8]
  • Late 13th century – Ricogliere “to pick up” appears in the Novellino.[4]
  • Before 1342 – Cavalca uses it for harvesting.[4]
  • 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses the form raccogliere.[4]
  • 16th century – The sense “to collect” is recorded.[4]
  • 1572 – Raccolta is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To pick up from the ground: Si chinò a raccogliere le chiavi.[8][2][11]
  2. To harvest, pick fruit or crops: raccogliere le olive.[8][3][1]
  3. To gather, bring together; to raise money; to collect information: raccogliere firme per una petizione.[8][3][6]
  4. To collect as a hobby: Raccoglie cartoline d'epoca.[8][11]
  5. To gather texts into a volume or anthology; to sum up in a few points.[8][3]
  6. To receive, obtain (praise, success, votes): Il film ha raccolto ottime critiche.[8][3]
  7. To accept, take up (an invitation, a challenge, a hint).[8][11]
  8. To take in, shelter people or animals in need.[8][3][6]
  9. To gather up, fold: raccogliere le vele, raccogliere i capelli.[8][3]
  10. raccogliersi: to gather (of people); to concentrate one's thoughts.[4][6]

Word family

  • raccolta
  • raccolto
  • raccoglimento
  • raccoglitore
  • raccoglitrice
  • raccogliticcio
  • raccoglitura
  • accogliere
  • cogliere
  • Latin recolligo
  • French recueillir

Usage notes

Fixed phrases include raccogliere il guanto “to take up the challenge”, raccogliere le idee “to collect one's thoughts” and raccogliere col cucchiaino “to scrape up someone in a bad state”.[8][11][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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 c d e f g h Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  7. ^ a b Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 1, 294
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
Cite this entry

“Raccogliere.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/raccogliere. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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