rinnegare

Forms

rinnegare (first-person singular present rinnégo or rinnègo, first-person singular past historic rinnegài, past participle rinnegàto, auxiliary avére)^[1] The old form Old Italian rinegare was long in use beside it.^[2][3][4] Northern and other early texts have forms such as Old Italian renegare and Old Italian renegar.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *renegāre (“to deny, disown”), a compound not recorded in Latin, formed from Latin negō (“to say no, deny”) with the intensive prefix re-.^{[6][7][8][9][1]} Nocentini and Devoto–Oli see the influence of the Italian prefix rin- in the form.^[7][10] Devoto read that prefix as implying not only a break with someone but an affront to him.^[11] DELI classes the verb as a learned word and ties its spread to the Gospel verse in which Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him three times before the cock crows (Matthew 26:34).^[6]

The same Vulgar Latin verb is French renier (older Old French renoiier), Old Occitan renegar, Catalan renegar, Spanish renegar and Portuguese renegar.^[12][13] Meyer-Lübke notes that across Romance it was used above all for denying God and the faith; in the Campidanese dialect of Sardinia the reflexive arrenegaisi has come to mean “to get angry”.^[12]

The simple verb is formed from ne (“not”), perhaps by way of nec.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record in the TLIO is in Giacomo da Lentini (c. 1230–1250, in a Tuscanized text), with the sense “to disown an earlier bond with a person”.^[5] DELI's earliest dated example is in Domenico Cavalca (before 1342), of refusing to acknowledge someone to whom one was bound by affection, friendship or kinship.^[6] Cavalca writes of Saint Peter, “che l'aveva rinegato” (“who had denied him”), being forgiven by Christ.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used the verb for firmly denying something, for giving up an earlier way of life, and for renouncing a faith or a religious institution.^[5] It is recorded in Tuscan texts and in northern ones, from Emilia, Genoa (before 1311) and Pavia (1342).^[5] Passavanti (before 1357) has it in the sense “to blaspheme”, and Cecchi (before 1587) for refusing to keep a faith or an idea.^[6]

In the 19th century Tommaseo described it as said mostly of religion, a sect or a school, and quoted a passage on forcing the Christians of an empire to deny Christ and become Muslims.^[14] The past participle rinnegato, recorded in the 13th-century Cronica fiorentina, became a noun for someone who has abandoned his faith or his ideas, a renegade.^[6][15] Zingarelli records a rare rinnegare il cielo, “to perjure oneself”.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1230–1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses the verb.^[5]
• 13th century – The participle rinnegato appears in the Cronica fiorentina.^[6]
• Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses rinnegare of disowning a person.^[6]
• Before 1357 – Passavanti uses it for “to blaspheme”.^[6]
• 14th century – The noun rinnegamento is recorded in vernacular versions of Saint Gregory and Saint Jerome.^[6]
• Before 1587 – Cecchi uses it of renouncing a faith or an idea.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To disown or deny knowing a person to whom one was bound by obedience, affection or kinship: Ha rinnegato il fratello pur di salvarsi.^{[8][10][9][15][1]}
2. To renounce a faith, an ideal or an institution one used to profess: rinnegare la propria fede.^{[8][10][9][15][1]}
3. To give up a way of life or behaviour one now considers wrong.^[8][10][9]
4. To deny a feeling of one's own.^[1][3]

Word family

• rinnegato
• rinnegamento
• rinnegatore
• rinnegazione

Related words

• negare
• Latin negō
• French renier
• Spanish renegar

Usage notes

The present is rinnégo or rinnègo, rinnéghi or rinnèghi.^[2][1] The best-known use is Peter's denial of Jesus, which Devoto–Oli, Sabatini–Coletti and Gabrielli all give as an example.^[10][9][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
4. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
5. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
10. ^ 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
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 373
12. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
13. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
14. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
15. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)