Etymologically
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rispettare

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Pronunciation

  • /ris.petˈta.re/[1]

Forms

rispettare (first-person singular present rispètto, first-person singular past historic rispettài, past participle rispettàto, auxiliary avére)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin respectō (“to look back; to have regard for”), a learned word.[2][3][4][5] The Latin verb is the intensive of respiciō (“to look back”), from re- (“back”) and speciō (“to look”), or is formed with the same prefix on spectō (“to look at”).[2][6][4][3] Nocentini explains that it took the sense “to look on with respect” from respectus (“regard, consideration”), the noun from its past participle.[3][2] Devoto adds that the prefix was crossed with Italian ri-.[7]

The noun rispetto is the same Latin noun; the old variants Old Italian respitto and rispitto depend on its French outcome Old French respit, and DEI also sees French influence in the meanings of the noun.[2][5] The verb is French respecter, and Spanish respectar means “to concern”.[3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Boccaccio in 1341–42, in the sense “to show esteem, to treat with respect and reverence”.[2][4] In Boccaccio's Amorosa visione everyone seemed eager and bold, non rispettando il piccolo il maggiore, “the small not respecting the great”.[9]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to observe according to the rules” is recorded from Antonio Pigafetta about 1525, and “to hold something too worthy to be offended or violated” from Bernardo Davanzati before 1600.[2] Tommaseo explained the sense from the idea of looking back at something with attention rather than a passing glance.[9] Battaglia also records a second, intransitive rispettare, “to sing a rispetto”, a Tuscan popular love song.[10]

The derivative rispettabile is recorded in 1686, and its sense “considerable” was rejected by the purists as too close to English respectable;[2] rispettabilità may be a calque of English respectability or of French respectabilité.[2] In modern use the verb also means to keep to rules and limits, and che si rispetti says that someone or something deserves the name.[4][11][12]

Timeline

  • 1341–1342 – Boccaccio uses rispettare.[2]
  • c. 1525 – Pigafetta uses it for observing rules.[2]
  • Before 1600 – Davanzati uses it for not violating something.[2]
  • 1686 – Segneri has rispettabile.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To respect someone, to treat them with esteem and regard: Rispetta sempre i suoi insegnanti.[4][11][13]
  2. To respect the rights, ideas or dignity of others and not offend them: Rispetto la tua scelta, anche se non la condivido.[4][11][6]
  3. To treat things with care and not damage them: Bisogna rispettare l'ambiente.[4][11][13]
  4. To observe or comply with a rule, a law or a promise: Non ha rispettato i limiti di velocità.[4][11][12]
  5. To render something faithfully: La traduzione rispetta il testo.[4][12]

Word family

  • rispettabile
  • rispetto
  • rispettabilità
  • rispettivamente
  • rispettivo
  • rispettoso
  • rispettevole

Usage notes

Farsi rispettare is to make others respect one's rights and authority, and rispettare sé stesso to keep one's own dignity.[4][12][6]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3264
  6. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 376
  8. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 16, 856
  11. ^ 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
  12. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse