cambiare Italian · revision 37666

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 12th century, Proverbia que dicuntur (Venetian)|origins=la-lat cambiō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kamˈbja.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cambiare''' (first-person singular present càmbio, first-person singular past historic cambiài, past participle cambiàto, auxiliary (transitive) avére or (intransitive) èssere)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also had southern forms such as ''cagnare''.^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|cambiō|t=to exchange, barter]], a Late Latin verb of Gaulish origin.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(LEI|9, 1701) Apuleius uses it, and the glosses explain it as “to give one thing for another”.^(LEI|9, 1701)^(DEI|698) DELI points to a Gallo-Latin glossary of the 8th century with this gloss, which seems to reflect barter between free Gaulish farmers.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The verb continues in all the Romance languages except Romanian, which has [[ro|schimba]] from [[la-vul|*excambiō]]:^(LEI|9, 1701)^(REW 1935) it is [[rm|chammiar]], [[fr|changer]] (from 1155), [[pro|cambiar]], [[ca|canviar]], [[es|cambiar]] (1147) and [[pt|cambiar]].^(LEI|9, 1701)^(Nocentini 2010) The French verb came back into Italian as [[cangiare]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Nocentini compares [[sga|camb]] “crooked”, from a sense “to turn, convert”, and the LEI quotes Walde and Hofmann's comparison with [[mga|cimb]] “tribute”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|9, 1701) Figge, by contrast, rejected the Gaulish origin and proposed [[la-vul|*coambō|alt=*coambāre]] “to join”, from [[la|ambō|t=both]].^(LEI|9, 1701)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's earliest record is in the Venetian ''Proverbia que dicuntur'' of the last quarter of the 12th century.^(TLIO) The first Tuscan record is a Florentine document of 1255–1256 about exchanging land with someone, where the verb means “to give one thing in exchange for another”.^(LEI|9, 1701)^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Exchange came first: a Florentine document of 1255 uses the verb for replacing one thing with another, and the account book of the Tolomei company (1278–1280) for exchanging one currency for another.^(DELI 1999) From this commercial use came ''cambio'' “exchange”, with the bill of exchange, ''lettera cambiale'' (1723), and the noun ''cambiale'' (1763).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The sense “to make different” is in Bono Giamboni before 1292, and the intransitive “to become different” in Dino Compagni (1310–1312); the noun ''cambiamento'' is in Boccaccio (1352).^(DELI 1999) Modern life added changing clothes (''cambiarsi i panni'' before 1578, simply ''cambiarsi'' by 1875), changing trains (1925) and changing gear (1962).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ German took ''kambieren'' “to exchange money” from the Italian verb in 1711.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – The Venetian ''Proverbia que dicuntur'' use the verb.^(TLIO)

+ * 1255 – A Florentine document uses ''cambiare'' for replacing one thing with another.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1278–1280 – The Tolomei company uses it for exchanging money.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for making different.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni uses it intransitively, “to become different”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1352 – Boccaccio uses ''cambiamento''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1711 – German ''kambieren'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1925 – Zingarelli records the sense “to change trains”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|replace]] one thing or person with another, to take a different one: ''Ho cambiato telefono la settimana scorsa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To make different, [[m|en|alter]], for better or worse.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(intransitive, with essere)'' To become different, to [[m|en|change]]: ''Da quando vive a Roma è molto cambiato.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To exchange money into another currency, or into smaller coins or notes.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+ # To change someone's clothes or nappy; pronominal ''cambiarsi'', to change one's clothes.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+ # To change trains; on a vehicle, to change gear.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''(dated)'' To [[m|en|exchange]], barter.^(Wiktionary)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cambio]]

+ * [[cambiamento]]

+ * [[cambiale]]

+ * [[cambiavalute]]

+ * [[cambiabile]]

+ * [[intercambiabile]]

+ * [[ricambiare]]

+ * [[contraccambiare]]

+ * [[scambiare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cangiare]]

+ * [[fr|changer]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The verb takes ''avere'' when transitive and ''essere'' when it means “to become different”.^(Wiktionary)^(GRADIT 2003) Common phrases include ''cambiare idea'' “to change one's mind”, ''cambiare aria'' “to go somewhere else”, ''cambiare discorso'' “to change the subject” and ''cambiare le carte in tavola'' “to shift one's position unfairly”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}