tema

tema¹ fear

Pronunciation

• /ˈtɛ.ma/, /ˈte.ma/^[1]

Forms

tema f (plural teme)^[1]

Etymology

The word for “fear” is a deverbal noun from Italian temere (“to fear”).^[2][3][4][1] DELI calls it a learned word, while Meyer-Lübke lists it among the derivatives of Latin timeō (“to fear”) beside Romanian teamă and Dalmatian taima.^[2][5] The same formation is Corsican témia and Romansh tema.^[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first records are in the Novellino (late 13th century) and in Brunetto Latini's Tesoretto (before 1294): Ben ha la vita dura / chi così si bilanza / tra tema e disianza (“he has a hard life who weighs himself thus between fear and desire”).^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Dante uses tema in both verse and prose, while the synonyms temenza and timore appear only in his prose.^[2] The Inferno has sì che la tema si volve in disio (“so that their fear turns into desire”) and sanza tema d'infamia ti rispondo (“I answer you without fear of infamy”).^[7][8]

Since then the word has been literary.^[4][9] In a high register it survives in the phrases per tema di and senza tema di.^[9][10]

Timeline

• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses tema “fear” in the Tesoretto.^[2][7]
• Late 13th century – It appears in the Novellino.^[2]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it in verse and prose.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (literary, singular only) fear, dread: senza tema di smentita, without fear of being contradicted.^[4][9][10]

tema² theme, subject

Pronunciation

• /ˈtɛ.ma/^[1]

Forms

tema m (plural temi)^[1]

Etymology

The word for “theme, subject” is borrowed from Latin thema (“subject; theme”), which is from Ancient Greek θέμα (théma, “that which is placed”), from the root of τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put, place”).^[2][3][4][1] The Greek noun meant something put forward for discussion, and in grammar a primary, underived form.^[6][3] The same word is French thème and Spanish tema, and it spread through the European languages.^[3] The Spanish word also means “obstinacy”, as does Portuguese teima.^[6][11]

DELI notes that the adjective tematico is Greek θεματικός (thematikós), though it may have come through French thématique, in use since 1572.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Dante's Inferno (1300–1313), in the sense “subject of a discourse”: però che sì mi caccia il lungo tema (“for the long theme so drives me on”).^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Boccaccio (1348–1353) and other early writers also used the word as a feminine, la tema.^[2][4] Salvini used it for the root of a word before 1729, and later grammar used it for the stem.^[2][6]

The school sense, “the subject of a composition” and then the composition itself, is recorded in 1891.^[2] In music tema is the melodic idea that is varied (1865 in DEI, 1937 in DELI), and the sense “a theme that recurs in works of art and literature” is recorded in 1961.^[2][6]

Timeline

• 1300–1313 – Dante uses tema in the Inferno.^[2][7]
• 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it as a feminine.^[2]
• Before 1729 – Salvini uses it for the root of a word.^[2]
• 1865 – The musical sense is recorded.^[6]
• 1891 – The school composition and the adjective tematico are recorded.^[2]
• 1950 – Tematica is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The subject or topic of a speech, discussion or piece of writing: cambiare tema, in tema di “on the subject of”.^[4][12][13]
2. A school essay, or the subject set for it: andare fuori tema, to stray from the subject.^[4][12][9]
3. The central subject or recurring motif of a work of art or literature, or of an author's work.^[4][12][9]
4. (music) A theme, the melodic idea on which a composition is built and varied, or the motif tied to a character.^[4][9][13]
5. (linguistics) The stem of a word, to which the ending is added, and also the given part of a sentence, as opposed to the new information.^[4][9][13]
6. (astrology) In tema di nascita, the position of the stars at a person's birth.^[13][14]

Word family

• tematica
• tematico
• sottotema
• monotematico
• atematico
• tematizzare