sciagurato

Forms

sciagurato (feminine sciagurata, masculine plural sciagurati, feminine plural sciagurate, superlative sciaguratissimo)^[1] The old form Old Italian sciaurato is used by Dante and survives as a literary or popular variant.^[2][3][4] Northern forms were Old Italian sagurato, Old Italian segurato and Old Italian sigurato, and Old Florentine also Old Italian isciagurato.^[5][6] In Gubbio ciagurato means “spendthrift”.^[7]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin exaugurātus (“deconsecrated, profaned”), the past participle of exaugurō (“to deconsecrate, profane”).^[2][8][9][1] Nocentini sets it up as Vulgar Latin *exaugurātus.^[10] The verb is formed from ex- in a privative sense and augurō (“to consecrate with auguries”), from augurium (“augury, omen”).^{[2][10][11][4]}

The LEI notes that the Latin verb left no Romance descendants except this participle, which survives only in Italo-Romance.^[5] Since no form keeps a trace of the unstressed diphthong, it posits a dissimilated base *exagurātus.^[5] Devoto took the change of /au/ to /a/ before the stress as regular.^[12] The LEI explains the shift of meaning, from “released from a sacred bond” to “struck by misfortune”, by the belief, pagan and Christian alike, that those who lose their bond with the divine are wretched.^[5]

Meyer-Lübke saw the word differently: he took it from Old Occitan desaugurat, set beside Old French deseuré and Spanish jagurado under the same Latin noun.^[13] DEI compares the same forms.^[7] Meyer-Lübke and Nocentini take sciagura as a back-formation from the adjective.^[13][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is the form sciaurato in Rustico di Filippo, before 1300, in the sense “persecuted by misfortune, unfortunate”, and Dante uses sciagurato before 1321.^[2] The LEI has an earlier Urbino laud of the 13th century with the feminine sagurata.^[5] In the Inferno Dante writes che tu sappi chi è lo sciagurato / venuto a man de li avversari suoi (“that you may know who the wretch is who has fallen into the hands of his foes”).^[14][4]

Semantic evolution

Dante also writes questi sciaurati, che mai non fur vivi (“these wretches, who were never alive”).^[4] DELI dates the sense “wicked, iniquitous” before 1313, in Arrighetto, and “bringing misfortune” to 1341–1342, in Boccaccio.^[2] Old texts also use it in laments: sciagurato me! or sciagurata a me! (“woe is me!”).^[14]

The noun sciagura “disaster” is recorded before 1292, in Bono Giamboni, earlier than the adjective.^[2] Sciaguratàggine follows before 1492, in Lorenzo de' Medici; an earlier quotation from Giordano da Pisa in the Crusca and Tommaseo is a forgery.^[2]

Modern colloquial Italian softens the word, without real blame, to a reckless or careless person or an ill-judged choice.^[8][4] Pirandello writes of a man who looked like uno sciagurato che avesse affogato la propria anima nel vino (“a wretch who had drowned his soul in wine”).^[4]

Timeline

• 13th century – An Urbino laud has sagurata.^[5]
• Before 1292 – B. Giamboni uses sciagura.^[2]
• Before 1300 – Rustico di Filippo uses sciaurato.^[2]
• Before 1313 – Arrighetto uses it in the sense “wicked”.^[2]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses sciagurato.^[2]
• 1341–1342 – Boccaccio uses it in the sense “bringing misfortune”.^[2]
• Before 1492 – Lorenzo de' Medici uses sciaguratàggine.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Persecuted by misfortune; wretched, unfortunate: una coppia sciagurata.^[8][3][9][1]
2. Causing misfortune or suffering; ill-fated, disastrous.^[8][3] Of a period, marked by calamities: un inverno sciagurato.^[8][3][11]
3. Without moral sense; wicked, villainous: un tutore sciagurato.^[8][9][4]
4. (colloquial, hyperbolic) Reckless, irresponsible.^[8][3] Of a thing, unfortunate, ill-judged: Che sciagurata scelta di parole!^[8][3][4]

Noun

1. A person struck by misfortune, a wretch.^[9][11][1]
2. A wicked person, a scoundrel.^[8][11][9]
3. (colloquial) An irresponsible, unreliable person: Lo sciagurato ha lasciato il gas aperto.^[15][16][11]

Word family

• sciagura
• sciagurataggine
• sciaguratamente
• sciaguratezza
• sciaguratello
• sciaguratone

Related words

• augurio
• augurare
• Latin exauguro

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b c d e f Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 21, 988
6. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3394
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
12. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
14. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
15. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
16. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli