sementa

Forms

sementa f (plural semente)^[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun, from Italian sementare (“to sow”).^[2][3][4][5] The verb continues Latin sēmentāre (“to produce seed”), formed on sēmentis (“sowing; seed”).^[4][3] In the sense “seed” the noun is rather a variant of semente, which continues the accusative of the same Latin noun.^[1][6][7]

The Latin noun is formed on sēmen (“seed”).^[4][8] Wiktionary suggests it was reshaped from an earlier *sēmentum, built on the same stem, from Proto-Indo-European *séh₁mn̥.^[1]

The sources differ on the date: DELI and GRADIT have the word in the 13th century and Sabatini–Coletti in the 14th, while Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date it to the 17th and Zingarelli to 1666.^{[2][3][6][4][5][9]}

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in the 13th-century poet Monte Andrea, with the sense “sowing”.^[2] Battaglia quotes the line chi fa sementa (“whoever sows”).^[10]

Semantic evolution

G. Villani has al tempo della sementa for the sowing season, and the Italian Crescenzi advises delaying the sowing in a warm, rich field.^[10] Boccaccio uses the word for seed: Belcolore sits down to clean sementa di cavolini, cabbage seed.^[11][7]

Dante has the figurative sense, love as the seed of every virtue (Amor sementa in voi d'ogne virtute).^[7][3] Manzoni has una sementa di guai, a seed of troubles.^[5][7] A proverb in Serdonati says that when the almond tree bears no fruit, the whole sowing is lost.^[11] Pascoli and D'Annunzio used it for seed in verse.^[7]

Timeline

• 13th century – Monte Andrea uses sementa “sowing”.^[2][10]
• Before 1294 – The verb sementare is recorded in Guittone d'Arezzo.^[2][12]
• 1666 – Zingarelli's date for the sense “sowing”.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (agriculture) sowing, especially of wheat, and the season when it is done: La sementa del grano è finita.^[3][9][7][6]
2. (literary) Seed, semente.^[3][5][7][1]
3. (figurative) Cause, origin.^[3][5][6]
4. (rare) lineage, offspring.^[3]

Related words

• semente
• semina
• sementare
• seminare
• seme

Usage notes

The TLIO treats Old Italian sementa as a form of semente.^[12] Devoto–Oli marks the word as uncommon.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e f g Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
11. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it