cominciare Italian · revision 37746

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=second half of the 12th century, Ritmo di Sant'Alessio|origins=la initium}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ko.minˈt͡ʃa.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cominciare''' (first-person singular present comìncio, first-person singular past historic cominciài, past participle cominciàto, auxiliary (transitive, also rarely intransitive when followed by a complement or adverb) avére or (intransitive) èssere)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also has [[m|roa-oit|comenzare]], [[m|roa-oit|cominzare]] and, with a changed prefix, [[m|roa-oit|coninciare]].^(DEI|1028)^(GDLI)^(LEI|15, 1319) The northern dialects have forms such as [[lij|comensâ]] (Genoese) and [[pms|coumensè]].^(LEI|15, 1319)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*cominitiō|alt=*cominitiāre]], a Vulgar Latin verb made from [[la|initiō|t=to begin; to initiate]] with the prefix [[m|la|com-]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin verb comes from [[m|la|initium|t=beginning]].^(Nocentini 2010) DELI, GRADIT and Zingarelli write the reconstructed form with syncope, as [[m|la-vul|*comintiō|alt=*comintiāre]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ The same verb is [[fr|commencer]], [[oc|començar]], [[ca|començar]], [[es|comenzar]], [[pt|começar]], [[fur|comenciâ]] and [[rm|cumanzar]] (Engadine).^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|15, 1319)^(REW 1935) Meyer-Lübke and Jaberg placed its starting point in northern Gaul: the Latin verb meant “to initiate into a rite”, and the prefix would come from church verbs such as [[m|la|cōnsecrō|t=to consecrate]] and [[m|la|commūnicō|t=to share; to take communion]].^(REW 1935)^(LEI|15, 1319) The LEI sees no good reason to deny that the formation is native in Italy and Iberia too, and Wartburg also held it to be old throughout the Romance area.^(LEI|15, 1319) Körting thought the derivation not beyond doubt.^(Körting 1907)

+

+ The Tuscan ⟨-ci-⟩ /tʃ/ is unexpected: Meyer-Lübke and Devoto explain the Florentine form as an adaptation of a northern [[m|roa-oit|comenzare]] with /ts/, and the DEI agrees.^(REW 1935)^(Devoto 1968)^(DEI|1028) The TLIO refers to Castellani for an explanation of the Tuscan palatal.^(TLIO) [[la|incipiō|t=to begin]] survives in [[ro|începe]], while [[la|coepī|t=I began]] has disappeared.^(DEI|1028)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the ''Ritmo di Sant'Alessio'', a poem from the Marche of the second half of the 12th century, in the sense “to start doing something”.^(TLIO) DELI dates the intransitive “to begin, to start” from Rinaldo d'Aquino early in the 13th century, and the transitive “to begin something” from Bono Giamboni, before 1292.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Old Italian verb already covered beginning an action, founding something, starting a war or battle, and beginning a speech or a text.^(TLIO) Dante writes of seeing knights ''cominciare stormo'' (“begin the fight”) in ''Inferno'' 22, and ''Io cominciai'' (“I began [to speak]”) introduces speech in the ''Commedia'', a use the modern dictionaries mark as literary.^(GDLI|3, 354)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ Old texts opened with formulas such as ''Comincia il libro chiamato Decameron'', later used jokingly.^(Zingarelli 2010) The infinitive is also a literary noun, ''il cominciare'' “the beginning”, as in Dante's ''al cominciar dell'erta''.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The derivatives ''cominciamento'' (13th century) and ''incominciare'' (first half of the 13th century) are as old as the verb.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The proverb ''chi ben comincia è alla metà dell'opera'' means that a good start is half the work.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Second half of the 12th century – The ''Ritmo di Sant'Alessio'' (Marche) has the verb.^(TLIO)

+ * Early 13th century – Rinaldo d'Aquino uses it intransitively, “to begin”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 13th century – The noun ''cominciamento'' appears in Mazzeo di Ricco.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it transitively, “to begin something”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1292–1293 – Dante's ''Vita nuova'' uses it for beginning to speak.^(LEI|15, 1319)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(transitive, also absolute)'' To [[m|en|begin]], to [[m|en|start]] something: ''Ho cominciato un nuovo libro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(with a + infinitive)'' To begin doing something; with an impersonal verb, ''comincia a nevicare'', it is starting to snow.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(intransitive, with essere)'' To have its beginning: ''Le lezioni cominciano lunedì.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(literary)'' To begin to speak.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(noun, literary)'' The beginning: ''sul cominciare della primavera''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[incominciare]]

+ * [[ricominciare]]

+ * [[cominciamento]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[iniziare]]

+ * [[inizio]]

+ * [[principiare]]

+ * [[fr|commencer]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Transitive ''cominciare'' takes ''avere''; intransitive ''cominciare'' (“to begin, to start”) takes ''essere'', and with an impersonal verb either is used (''ha'' or ''è cominciato a piovere'').^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary) The ironic ''cominciamo bene!'' greets a bad start.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}