seminatore

Forms

seminatore m (plural seminatori, feminine seminatrice)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin sēminātor (“sower; begetter”), the agent noun of sēminō (“to sow”).^{[1][2][3][4][5]} Within the language it reads as from Italian seminare + -tore, and Battaglia calls it an agent noun of the verb.^[1][6] The Latin verb is formed on sēmen (“seed”).^[2][7]

The corresponding nouns are Romanian sămănător, Friulian semenador, French semeur, Old Occitan semenador, Spanish sembrador and Portuguese semeador.^[8][9] Meyer-Lübke allows that they may be new formations on each language's verb.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is the Italian Crescenzi of about 1350, with the sense “one who sows”.^[10] Battaglia quotes it on wild plants, which show the farmer what to grow though the sower has not gone to them: alle quali il seminatore non sarà andato.^[6] Zingarelli and GRADIT give earlier dates, before 1292 and before 1320.^[11][3]

Semantic evolution

Dante has the figurative use for those who spread discord, Seminator di scandalo e di scisma (“sowers of scandal and schism”).^[12][13] An old version of Gregory's Moralia speaks of the parable of the sower, and Cavalca called Christ ’l principal seminatore.^[12][13]

In the 19th century Tommaseo also records the word for a sowing machine.^[12] Modern dictionaries give the figurative sense a pejorative tone.^[4][14]

Timeline

• Before 1292 – Zingarelli's date for the first record.^[11]
• Before 1320 – GRADIT's date for the first record.^[3]
• About 1350 – The Italian Crescenzi has seminatore “sower”.^[10][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sower, one who sows seed.^{[3][4][14][1]}
2. (figurative, pejorative) One who spreads harmful ideas or discord: un seminatore di sospetti.^[4][14][15]

Adjective

1. That sows.^[3][16]

Related words

• seminare
• seme
• semente
• Latin seminator

Usage notes

The feminine is seminatrice.^[1][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
10. ^ a b Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
16. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli