funzionare Italian · revision 37749

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1796, Atti del Congresso cispadano|origins=la fungor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /fun.t͡sjoˈna.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''funzionare''' (first-person singular present funzióno, first-person singular past historic funzionài, past participle funzionàto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|fonctionner]], a verb formed in French from [[m|fr|fonction|t=function]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) The French verb is recorded from 1637.^(DEI|1736)^(GRADIT 2003) In Italian the borrowing was matched to the native noun [[funzione]], which goes back to [[la|functiō|t=performance]], from [[m|la|fungor|t=to perform]].^(Devoto 1968)^(Wikizionario) GRADIT describes the verb instead as a derivative of that noun with the verb ending [[-are]], and compares the French word.^(GRADIT 2003) The Piedmontese form is [[m|pms|funsioné]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is from 1796, in the proceedings of the Cispadane Congress at Reggio, with the sense “to carry out the functions that belong to one's nature or structure”.^(DELI 1999) Nocentini and GRADIT date the word from 1848.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb was long felt to be a Gallicism: the GDLI calls it a calque of French and quotes the purist Arlía, who mocked how ''funzionare'' saved speakers the trouble of finding a different verb for each idea.^(GDLI) Tommaseo noted that people said ''funziona'' not only of a priest in his cope or a magistrate in his robe, but of a bodily organ and of a machine, and he marked the word as one to avoid.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ The religious sense, of a priest celebrating a service, and the sense “to act as”, now replaced by ''fungere'', have become rare.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) The usual modern senses are those of a machine or organ doing its work and, figuratively, of an idea or a method that gives results.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1637 – French ''fonctionner'' is recorded.^(DEI|1736)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1796 – ''Funzionare'' appears in the proceedings of the Cispadane Congress at Reggio.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1848 – Date of first record given by Nocentini and GRADIT.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(intransitive)'' Of a [[m|en|machine]] or device, to [[m|en|work]], to do its job: ''La lavatrice non funziona da ieri.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Of an organ of the body, to work properly.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Of an office, firm or institution, to run [[m|en|efficient|alt=efficiently]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To be effective, to give good results: ''Il nuovo metodo funziona.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(uncommon)'' To act as, to serve as (with ''da''), the same as [[fungere]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(uncommon, religion)'' To celebrate a religious service.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[funzionamento]]

+ * [[funzionante]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[funzione]]

+ * [[fungere]]

+ * [[fr|fonctionner]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}