Etymologically
Log in

sbagliare

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 21:11. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /zbaʎˈʎa.re/[1]

Forms

sbagliare (first-person singular present sbàglio, first-person singular past historic sbagliài, past participle sbagliàto, auxiliary avére)[1]

Etymology

It is probably formed from abbagliare (“to dazzle”) with a change of prefix, s- taking the place of a-.[2][3][4] Nocentini adds that the verb was at first reflexive, meaning “to be dazzled, to be mistaken”.[3] DEI and the Gabrielli start instead from an old verb Old Italian bagliare, whose participle is found in Cavalca in the 14th century, while the GDLI takes the prefix to be an intensive one from Latin ex- and Devoto–Oli a privative one.[5][6][7][8] Sabatini–Coletti calls the origin uncertain.[9] The same formation is Sicilian sbagghiari.[1]

The family of bagliore “glare” is itself of disputed origin.[2][3] DELI finds Latin varius (“varied”) difficult in its sounds and a cross of Latin badius (“bay”) with a Greek word for “shining” complicated; the LEI proposes Gaulish *balios (“shining”), a pre-Roman word perhaps of Celtic origin.[2] Nocentini prefers Vulgar Latin *balius from Ancient Greek βαλιός (baliós, “dappled”), a variant of φαλιός (phaliós, “white, shining”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini dates the verb to about 1440.[3] DELI and GRADIT give 1666, in Lorenzo Magalotti, with the intransitive sense “to make a mistake”, and DEI 1667.[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The transitive sense, getting something wrong or missing it (sbagliare il colpo), is recorded before 1735 in Niccolò Forteguerri, whose golden lance “never misses its blow”.[2][7] The sense “to mistake one person or thing for another” follows before 1789 in Giuseppe Baretti, the reflexive sbagliarsi “to be wrong” in 1855, and “to behave wrongly” in 1872, in Tommaseo–Bellini.[2]

Manzoni's I promessi sposi has a man who modestly said he had mistaken his vocation (aveva sbagliato la vocazione).[7] The noun sbaglio “mistake” is recorded in the 17th century, in Redi.[5] The proverb sbagliando s'impara (one learns by making mistakes) and the polite se non sbaglio (if I'm not mistaken) are part of everyday Italian.[8][4][10]

Timeline

  • About 1440 – The verb is first recorded, as sbagliarsi.[3]
  • 1666 – Lorenzo Magalotti uses the intransitive “to make a mistake”.[2][4]
  • 17th century – Francesco Redi uses the noun sbaglio.[5]
  • Before 1735 – Niccolò Forteguerri uses the transitive “to miss, get wrong”.[2]
  • Before 1789 – Giuseppe Baretti uses the sense “to mistake for another”.[2]
  • 1855 – Ugolini records the reflexive sbagliarsi.[2]
  • 1872 – Tommaseo–Bellini has the sense “to behave wrongly”.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (intransitive) To make a mistake, to be wrong in judging or doing something: Hai sbagliato a fidarti di loro.[4][8][10]
  2. (intransitive) To do wrong, to commit a fault: Ho sbagliato e chiedo scusa.[4][8][10]
  3. (transitive) To get something wrong, to do it badly; to miss a target: Ha sbagliato il rigore all'ultimo minuto.[4][9][10]
  4. (transitive) To mistake one person or thing for another: sbagliare strada, sbagliare numero.[9][10][6]
  5. (transitive) To make a bad choice of: Ho sbagliato mestiere.[9][10]
  6. (reflexive, sbagliarsi) To be mistaken: Forse mi sbaglio, ma l'ho già visto.[8][9]

Word family

  • abbagliare
  • bagliore
  • abbaglio

Usage notes

Se non sbaglio, non vorrei sbagliare and sbaglierò soften an opinion.[4][10][6] Sbagliando s'impara and sbaglia anche il prete all'altare (even the priest makes mistakes at the altar) are proverbs.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3350
  6. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  7. ^ 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. 17, 624
  8. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  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 f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli