Etymologically
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responsabile

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Pronunciation

  • /res.ponˈsa.bi.le/[1]

Forms

responsabile m or f by sense (plural responsabili)[1] The older form was risponsabile, now disused.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French responsable, adapted to the Italian ending -abile.[2][5][6][1] DELI counts it among a family of modern words all imitated from French, none of which was yet recorded in D'Alberti's dictionary of 1804.[2] The French word is dated from the 12th century by DELI, from 1284 by DEI and, in its modern sense, from the 14th century by Nocentini and GRADIT.[2][7][5][6]

French formed it from Latin respōnsus, the past participle of respondeō (“to answer; to pledge oneself”), or from the intensive verb respōnsō (“to answer”) made on that participle.[2][5][8][3] DEI treats the Italian word as a learned formation on the Latin intensive, perhaps under French influence.[7] The French adjective was also the source of Spanish responsable and English responsible.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is risponsabile in 1657, in a dispatch of Francesco Giavarina, the Venetian resident in London: Cromwell “si dichiarava egli stesso risponsabile (per servirmi della stessa parola usata da Sua Altezza)” (declared himself responsible, to use the very word His Highness used).[2][6][9] The form responsabile follows in 1706, in Alvise Mocenigo: “Li ministri sono responsabili al Parlamento” (the ministers are responsible to Parliament).[2][9]

Semantic evolution

The GDLI notes that the word arose in politics and public law, for those who hold power, and spread from there to the rest of the law and to morals.[9] The noun responsabilità is recorded from 1760;[2][5] DELI, following Ferdinand Brunot, explains that French took responsabilité from English responsibility and spread it through Europe with the weight that the events of the late 18th century had given it.[2][5]

The sense “aware of the consequences of one's conduct” is recorded in 1872 in Tommaseo, and the noun, “the person who must answer for something”, before 1935.[2] Irresponsabile dates from 1816, responsabilizzare from the 1960s.[5][2] In modern use il responsabile is also the person in charge of an office or department, a manager.[6][8][1]

Timeline

  • 1657 – Francesco Giavarina writes risponsabile.[2][6]
  • 1706 – Alvise Mocenigo uses responsabile.[2]
  • 1760 – Responsabilità is recorded, in Gian Rinaldo Carli.[2]
  • 1816 – Irresponsabile is recorded.[5]
  • 1872 – Tommaseo records the sense “conscious of the consequences of one's conduct”.[2]
  • Before 1935 – The noun use is recorded.[2]
  • 1965 – Responsabilizzarsi appears in the newspaper Avanti!.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. responsible, answerable for one's own or others' actions, especially by position or office: Il capitano è responsabile della sicurezza dei passeggeri.[6][10][3]
  2. (law) liable for an offence or for the breach of an obligation: È stato dichiarato responsabile dei danni.[8][11][6]
  3. Aware of the consequences of one's conduct; sensible, reliable: Si è comportata in modo responsabile durante l'emergenza.[6][8][11]
  4. guilty of an act: I ragazzi responsabili del furto sono stati identificati.[6][10][3]
  5. Causing something, usually something bad: Il gelo è responsabile della perdita del raccolto.[6][10][4]

Noun

  1. The person in charge of an office, department or activity; a manager: Chieda al responsabile del magazzino.[6][8][11][1]
  2. The person answerable for something, especially the culprit: Non hanno ancora trovato i responsabili.[3][11][1]

Word family

  • responsabilità
  • responsabilmente
  • responsabilizzare
  • responsabilizzazione
  • irresponsabile
  • corresponsabile

Usage notes

A direttore responsabile is the editor who answers in law for everything a newspaper or magazine publishes.[3][11][4]

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 l m n o p q 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 Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3233
  8. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  9. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 15, 879
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana