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scomparire

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word scomparire

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1627, Tommaso Stigliani
Ultimate origin
Latin pāreō

Pronunciation

  • /skom.paˈri.re/[1]

Forms

scomparire (first-person singular present scompàio, first-person singular past historic scompàrvi, past participle scompàrso, auxiliary èssere)[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian s- + comparire (“to appear”), with the prefix in its privative sense, as the opposite of comparire.[2][3][4][1] Battaglia traces the prefix to ex-.[5] Devoto explains the verb as a cross of sparire and comparire.[6] Wiktionary compares Sicilian scumpàrriri.[1]

The base verb continues Latin compāreō (“to appear, be visible”), from pāreō (“to appear”) with com-.[2][3] Its forms mixed with those of an inchoative Vulgar Latin *comparescere, which also explains the double conjugation of the derived verb.[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is from 1627, in Tommaso Stigliani, in the sense “to cut a poor figure, not to stand out”.[2][7] DEI dates the verb to the 17th century, in Redi and Salvini.[8]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to lose worth beside something else” is the old one: a Tuscan prose text quoted by Tommaseo says of a sonnet that, having first made some show, it “è scomparito, e quasi ridotto al niente” (has paled, and is almost reduced to nothing).[9] GRADIT dates a sense of the verb to 1715.[4]

The sense “to vanish from sight” is first recorded in 1800, in a Milanese printed text, and the participle scomparso “no longer present or visible” in 1793, in Lorenzo Mascheroni.[2] The noun scomparsa “disappearance” followed in 1842, and its euphemistic sense “death” in 1940; the verb is used in the same way of a person who has died.[2][4][10] In modern Italian “disappear” is by far the main sense, and scomparire is a basic word.[4]

Timeline

  • 1627 – Tommaso Stigliani uses the verb for cutting a poor figure.[2]
  • 1715 – GRADIT's first date for the verb.[4]
  • 1793 – Lorenzo Mascheroni uses scomparso “vanished”.[2]
  • 1800 – The sense “to vanish from sight” is recorded in a Milanese text.[2]
  • 1842 – The noun scomparsa is recorded.[2]
  • 1940 – Scomparsa in the sense “death” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To disappear, to vanish from sight (of a person or thing): Il gatto è scomparso sotto il divano.[4][10][11]
  2. To go missing, to leave no trace: Da allora è scomparso dalla circolazione.[4][10][12]
  3. (euphemistic) To die, to pass away.[4][10][11]
  4. To be lost, to be nowhere to be found (of an object).[4][10]
  5. To fall out of use, to die out; to become extinct (of a custom, a species).[4][10][7]
  6. To pass, to stop (of a fever, a pain).[4][10][7]
  7. (figurative) Not to stand out, to look poor beside something else: Accanto a quel lampadario il nostro scompare.[4][10][7]
  8. (figurative) To cut a poor figure, not to bear comparison with others.[4][11][12]

Word family

Usage notes

The verb has two conjugations.[7][12] In the sense “to disappear” it is usually scompaio, scomparvi, scomparso; in the sense “to cut a poor figure” the forms scomparisco, scomparii, scomparito are preferred.[7][12][10][1] The auxiliary is essere.[11][7]

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 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 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 k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 395
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3411
  9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
Cite this entry

“Scomparire.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/scomparire. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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