idea Italian · revision 37633

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=13th century, Italian translation of Seneca|origins=grc εἴδω}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /iˈdɛ.a/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''idea''' ''f'' (plural idee)^(Wiktionary)

+ An old spelling is ''ydea''.^(TLIO) Corsican has the semi-popular form ''ieda''.^(DEI|1914)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|idea|t=idea, Platonic form]], from [[grc|ἰδέα|tr=idéa|t=appearance, form]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Greek noun is formed from the root of [[m|grc|ἰδεῖν|tr=ideîn|t=to see]], the aorist of the verb for “to see”,^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) and GRADIT relates it to [[la|videō|t=to see]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|1914)

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+ DEI notes that the word came through medieval philosophy, that Cicero had rendered it with [[m|la|forma]] or [[m|la|speciēs]], and that it spread especially in the 18th century under the influence of [[fr|idée]] (13th century).^(DEI|1914) DELI, quoting Schiaffini, stresses that the history of the word and of its derivatives [[ideale]], [[ideazione]] and [[ideologia]] is a European one: French [[m|fr|idéation]] came from English, [[m|fr|idéal]] from German, and [[m|fr|idéologie]] was coined by Destutt de Tracy in 1796.^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's earliest dated sense is “outward appearance”, in an Italian translation of Seneca of the 13th century.^(DELI 1999) The philosophical sense, a mental representation that sums up possible knowledge, the Platonic form, is in Dante's ''Convivio'' (1304–1308).^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the Platonic and Neoplatonic sense the word named the eternal models of things in the mind of God, and by extension the divine mind itself.^(GDLI|7, 202) The general senses followed: “mental content” in Marsilio Ficino (before 1499), “any representation of the mind” in Bandello (1554), “plan, intention” before 1590, “clever find” in Campanella (before 1639) and “opinion” in 1651.^(DELI 1999) The sense “ideology, doctrine behind a movement” is recorded before 1835, and “rough notion” (''non ne ho idea'') in Tommaseo–Bellini in 1869.^(DELI 1999)

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+ The use of ''un'idea'' for “a tiny amount”, as in “add a touch of salt”, is a common metaphor found also in popular French and in Romanian.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Of the derivatives, ''ideale'' is in Dante, its use as a noun follows French ''idéal'', and ''idealismo'' (1798) follows French ''idéalisme''.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – An Italian translation of Seneca uses it for “appearance”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 13th century – ''Ideare'' “to conceive” is recorded in Inghilfredi.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses it in the philosophical sense in the ''Convivio''.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1499 – Marsilio Ficino uses it for “mental content”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1554 – Bandello uses it for “any representation of the mind”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1639 – Campanella uses it for “a clever find”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1798 – ''Idealismo'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1869 – Tommaseo–Bellini records the sense “rough notion”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|idea]], [[m|en|notion]]: a representation formed by the mind of something real or abstract: ''l'idea di libertà''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(philosophy)'' In Plato, the eternal form of which things are copies; in Kant and Hegel, a concept of reason.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A rough or elementary notion: ''non ho la minima idea di dove sia''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # A thought of something possible: ''l'idea di partire mi mette di buon umore''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # [[m|en|opinion]], view, ''(plural)'' convictions, beliefs: ''un uomo di idee progressiste''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # A plan or intention; a clever find: ''le è venuta un’idea brillante''.^(Gabrielli 2020)^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The central theme of a work: ''l'idea di fondo del romanzo''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' A tiny amount, a touch: ''solo un’idea di zucchero''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ideale]]

+ * [[idealismo]]

+ * [[idealista]]

+ * [[idealistico]]

+ * [[idealità]]

+ * [[idealizzare]]

+ * [[idealizzazione]]

+ * [[idealmente]]

+ * [[ideare]]

+ * [[ideatore]]

+ * [[ideazione]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ideologia]]

+ * [[grc|ἰδέα|tr=idéa]]

+ * [[la|idea]]

+ * [[fr|idée]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Set phrases include ''neanche per idea'' (not at all), ''idea fissa'' (fixed idea, obsession), ''rendere l'idea'' (to get the point across) and ''farsi un'idea'' (to form an impression).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) The GDLI has a separate adjective ''Idea'' in ''Madre Idea'', Cybele, from Latin ''Idaea'', “of Mount Ida”, and an old botanical name ''idea'' for elecampane.^(GDLI|7, 202)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}