sognatore

Forms

sognatore m (plural sognatori, feminine sognatrice)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin somniātor (“dreamer”), an agent noun formed from somniō (“to dream”), in the view of Nocentini, GRADIT, Devoto–Oli, Zingarelli and Gabrielli.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} Sabatini–Coletti, Treccani and the GDLI instead see it as formed from Italian sognare + -tore, and Wiktionary allows both.^{[8][9][10][1]} The Latin verb comes from somnium (“dream”).^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Iacopo Passavanti in 1354, with the sense “one who dreams”.^[12] Passavanti says that a physician could name the possible causes of a dream but not tell which of them was at work, unless he heard it from the dreamer (dal sognatore).^[10] GRADIT dates the word to the end of the 13th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the dreamer was often a visionary: the Italian Bible warns against prophets, diviners and sognatori, and Joseph's brothers greet him with “Behold, the dreamer comes”.^[10][13] The Latin noun already had a scornful ring in Seneca, and Tommaseo notes that the Italian word was often disparaging.^[13]

The modern sense, a person given to daydreams and fantasy, is dated from the Milanese press of 1821.^[12] Tommaseo records Il Sognatore as the title of a periodical attributed to Gasparo Gozzi.^[13] Today the word is used mostly in this figurative sense, for an idealist with little practical sense.^[9][3]

Timeline

• 1354 – Iacopo Passavanti uses sognatore “one who dreams”.^[12]
• 1821 – The sense “daydreamer” appears in the Milanese press.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. (uncommon) One who dreams, or has had a dream.^[3][8][5]
2. (figurative) A dreamer: a person given to fantasy, or an idealist who lives on illusions and lacks practical sense: Mio padre è sempre stato un sognatore.^[3][4][8][9]

Adjective

1. Dreamy, given to fantasy and idealism: uno studente sognatore.^[3][8][14]

Related words

• sognare
• sogno
• Latin somniātor

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
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. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
12. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana