amare Italian · revision 37774

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1190, Raimbaut de Vaqueiras (Genoese)|origins=la amō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /aˈma.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''amare''' (first-person singular present àmo, first-person singular past historic amài, past participle amàto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|amō|t=to love]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The verb is found in nearly all the Romance languages, though not in Romanian: [[fr|aimer]] (older [[fro|amer]], from the 9th-century “Sequence of Saint Eulalia”), [[oc|amar]], [[ca|amar]], [[es|amar]], [[pt|amar]] and [[sc|amare]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|2, 473)^(DEI|151)^(REW 1935) In the dialects it has often been felt as a refined word and replaced by phrases such as “voler bene” and “aver caro”;^(LEI|2, 473)^(DELI 1999)^(REW 1935) [[ca|estimar]] and [[es|querer]] serve in much the same way in Catalan and in Spanish and Portuguese.^(LEI|2, 473)^(DELI 1999)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The origin of the Latin verb is debated: DELI and Zingarelli call it pre-Indo-European, and DEI and Devoto connect it with a Mediterranean root also seen in the Etruscan name of Eros on a mirror.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DEI|151)^(Devoto 1968|29) Nocentini thinks it probably comes from children's language, beside [[la|amma|t=mother]] and [[m|la|amita|t=aunt]].^(Nocentini 2010) De Vaan reconstructs [[itc-pro|*amā-|t=to take, hold]], from [[ine-pro|*h₃mh₃-|t=to take hold of]], the root of [[grc|ὄμνυμι|tr=ómnumi|t=I swear]]: the meaning would have passed from “to take someone's hand” to “to regard as a friend”.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the ''Contrasto'' of Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, about 1190, with lines in Genoese, and its first sense is the intimate love of one person for another.^(TLIO) The LEI has Old Piedmontese ''amer'' in the ''Sermoni subalpini'' of about 1200.^(LEI|2, 473) DELI's first record is in Giacomino Pugliese, at the beginning of the 13th century, with the sense “to feel and show deep affection”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already used the verb for sexual love, for goodwill towards neighbours and kin, for the love of God, and for attachment to an idea, a virtue or a vice.^(TLIO) Dante's ''Purgatorio'' says that “l'animo, ch'è creato ad amar presto, / ad ogni cosa è mobile che piace” (the soul, created quick to love, is moved towards everything that pleases).^(GDLI|1, 373) Giovanni Villani has ''amar meglio'' “to prefer”.^(Prati 1951|46)

+

+ The learned derivatives come from Latin: ''amabile'' (1270–1275), used of a sweetish wine from 1499, ''amatorio'' (14th century) and ''amatore''.^(DELI 1999) ''Amatore'' “lover” (before 1250, Giacomo da Lentini) is almost certainly [[pro|amador]], and ''amatore'' “connoisseur, collector” a calque of French ''amateur'', which purists opposed with ''dilettante''.^(DELI 1999) ''Amanza'' “love” was borrowed from Old Occitan ''amansa'', a key word of troubadour poetry.^(LEI|2, 473) Today the verb also says that a plant needs certain conditions, and Treccani notes the sense “to appreciate, like (a book)” under the influence of French [[m|fr|aimer]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1190 – Raimbaut de Vaqueiras uses ''amar'' in Genoese lines.^(TLIO)

+ * c. 1200 – Old Piedmontese ''amer'' is recorded in the ''Sermoni subalpini''.^(LEI|2, 473)

+ * Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses ''amante'' and ''amatore''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Early 13th century – Giacomino Pugliese uses ''amare''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1270–1275 – ''Amabile'' is recorded in the ''Fiori di filosofi''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1758 – ''Amatore'' is recorded for a connoisseur of the arts.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1979 – ''Amatoriale'' “amateur” is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|love]], feel affection for (family, friends): ''amare i propri figli''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To be in love with; to [[m|en|make love]] to; also absolute: ''Non ha mai smesso di amarla.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # To love with a spiritual or religious love: ''amare Dio'', ''amare il prossimo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To be attached to, devoted to (a thing, an ideal): ''amare la propria terra''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # To [[m|en|enjoy]], have a liking for; in negative sentences, not to like: ''Non amo molto i film dell'orrore.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # To wish, [[m|en|prefer]] (with an infinitive or ''che'' and the subjunctive).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Of plants and animals, to need or thrive in: ''Il limone ama il sole.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(reciprocal, amarsi)'' To love each other.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[amante]]

+ * [[amato]]

+ * [[amabile]]

+ * [[amabilità]]

+ * [[amatore]]

+ * [[amatorio]]

+ * [[amatoriale]]

+ * [[riamare]]

+ * [[disamare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[amore]]

+ * [[amico]]

+ * [[ameno]]

+ * [[la|amō]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Amare'' is also the feminine plural of [[amaro]] “bitter”, and Old Italian had an adverb ''amare'' “bitterly”, taken from the Latin adverb (Francesco da Barberino, 1314).^(TLIO)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The infinitive was used as a noun in Old Italian, “love” (Jacopone).^(DEI|151)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}