iniziare Italian · revision 37789

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1304–1307, Dante, Convivio|origins=ine-pro *h₁ey-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /i.nitˈt͡sja.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''iniziare''' (first-person singular present inìzio, first-person singular past historic iniziài, past participle iniziàto, auxiliary (transitive) avére or (intransitive) èssere)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|iniciare]].^(TLIO)^(GDLI|8)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|initiō|t=to initiate into the mysteries; begin]], a learned word, a verb formed from [[m|la|initium|t=beginning]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(TLIO) Devoto–Oli derives it instead from [[inizio]].^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The Latin verb first meant admitting someone to religious mysteries, and only later to begin in general.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ The noun [[m|la|initium]] comes from [[m|la|ineō|t=to go into; begin]], formed from [[m|la|in-|t=in]] and [[m|la|eō|t=to go]], from [[ine-pro|*h₁ey-|t=to go]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The Latin verb also lives on in the dialects, with the sense of [[incignare]], to cut into or start using something: [[lmo|insà]], [[lij|insà]] and [[pms|ensà]] are among the forms Meyer-Lübke lists, and DELI notes that the sense is not unknown in Late Latin.^(REW 1935)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Dante's ''Convivio'' (1304–1307), for starting something.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Dante compares a blameworthy thing to someone sent to settle a quarrel who “prima che partisse quella, ne iniziasse un'altra” (started another before settling that one).^(GDLI|8)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The intransitive use “to begin, have a beginning” is also in Dante, as a pronominal verb: “Pensa, lettor, se quel che qui s'inizia / non procedesse” (think, reader, if what begins here did not go on).^(DELI 1999) The sense “to admit to the rites of a cult” appears in the 14th century in an Italian translation of Livy, and Tommaseo in 1869 still called it the usual sense in classical Latin and in Italian.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO) The sense “to teach someone the first elements of an art” is in Melchiorre Cesarotti before 1808.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The intransitive use without ''si'', as in ''le lezioni iniziano alle 8'', was spreading in 1950, when Migliorini called it improper.^(DELI 1999) The purist Rigutini thought the verb should have stayed in the language of the Eleusinian mysteries.^(GDLI|8) ''Iniziativa'' was taken from French ''initiative'' in 1790 and criticized by Tommaseo in 1869, and ''iniziatico'' is recorded in 1869.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1304–1307 – Dante uses ''iniziare'' in the ''Convivio''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses ''s'inizia'' for “begins”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – A translation of Livy uses it for initiation into a cult.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1745 – ''Iniziazione'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1790 – ''Iniziativa'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1808 – Melchiorre Cesarotti uses it for introducing someone to an art.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1950 – Migliorini notes the spread of the intransitive use.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(transitive)'' To [[m|en|begin]], start, set about: ''Abbiamo iniziato i lavori in cucina.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(intransitive, with essere)'' To have its beginning: ''La partita inizia alle otto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To begin to do something (with ''a'' and an infinitive): ''Ha iniziato a nevicare.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To [[m|en|initiate]], admit someone to the rites of a cult or to a secret society.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(TLIO)

+ # To introduce someone to an art, a profession or a discipline: ''Il nonno lo iniziò alla pesca.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[iniziativa]]

+ * [[iniziato]]

+ * [[iniziatore]]

+ * [[iniziazione]]

+ * [[iniziatico]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[inizio]]

+ * [[iniziale]]

+ * [[la|initiō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}