incontrare Italian · revision 37814

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 12th century, Ritmo di Sant'Alessio|origins=la contrā}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /in.konˈtra.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''incontrare''' (first-person singular present incóntro, first-person singular past historic incontrài, past participle incontràto, auxiliary (transitive) avére or (intransitive) èssere)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|incontrō|alt=incontrāre]], a verb formed in late antiquity from the adverb [[m|la-lat|incontrā|t=towards, facing]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DELI finds the verb in the Itala, the old Latin Bible translation, around the 3rd century AD, while Nocentini treats it as an unrecorded Vulgar Latin verb.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The adverb itself is [[m|la|in|t=in]] added to [[m|la|contrā|t=against, opposite]]; it lives on in [[incontro]] “towards” and was probably already a spoken word in the Pompeian inscriptions.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The same verb is [[fro|encontrer]] (now [[fr|rencontrer]]), [[oc|encontrar]], [[ca|encontrar]], [[es|encontrar]] and [[pt|encontrar]];^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Meyer-Lübke thought the Spanish and Portuguese verbs came from Catalan.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) The noun meaning “meeting” is a back-formation from the verb.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The oldest record, in the form ''emcontrare'', is in the Ritmo di Sant'Alessio of the late 12th century, where the saint goes unrecognized by everyone he meets on his way; the form ''incontrare'' is in Brunetto Latini before 1294.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI) In Dante the most frequent use is the impersonal present ''incontra'' “it happens”, followed by a clause.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The first meaning, “to find before one, by chance or on purpose”, has stayed the main one.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The reflexive ''incontrarsi'' “to come upon” is found in the 14th-century Gospel translations, and the reciprocal meaning “to clash, fight” already in Dante; the reciprocal “to see each other, meet by arrangement” is recorded only in 1887.^(DELI 1999) From the 17th century the verb also meant “to have in front of one”, and in the 19th it took the sense “to find favour, be successful”: Manzoni in 1827 listed ''incontrare'' “to please, win applause” among the Lombard usages missing from the dictionaries.^(DELI 1999) The sports sense “to play against an opponent” is recorded in 1957.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ In geometry the verb is used of a line or figure that has one or more points in common with another, and in sailing it meant to check a boat's turn by putting the helm over quickly.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) The old sense “to happen” survives only in literary use.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – ''emcontrare'' appears in the Ritmo di Sant'Alessio.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''incontrare''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses the reciprocal form for “to clash”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – the Gospel translations use ''incontrarsi'' “to come upon”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1530 – Pietro Bembo uses the noun ''incontro'' “meeting”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1653 – Daniello Bartoli uses the verb for “to have in front of one”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1887 – Petrocchi records the sense “to meet by arrangement”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1957 – the sports sense is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(transitive)'' To [[m|en|meet]] someone by chance, to run into: ''Ieri ho incontrato la mia maestra al mercato.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To meet someone by arrangement, especially officially: ''Il sindaco incontrerà i commercianti venerdì.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To get to know someone, to come across a person in one's life.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To come up against something, to [[m|en|encounter]]: ''incontrare difficoltà''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(transitive, sports)'' To play or fight against an opponent.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To win approval: ''incontrare il favore del pubblico''; used alone, to be successful.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(transitive, geometry)'' To [[m|en|intersect]], have one or more points in common with another figure.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(intransitive, literary)'' To happen.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[incontro]]

+ * [[incontrarsi]]

+ * [[rincontrare]]

+ * [[scontrare]]

+ * [[scontro]]

+ * [[riscontrare]]

+ * [[riscontro]]

+ * [[scontrino]]

+ * [[scontroso]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[contro]]

+ * [[la|contrā]]

+ * [[fr|rencontrer]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The reciprocal ''incontrarsi'' is the usual way to say “to meet (each other)”: ''ci incontriamo davanti alla stazione'' “we're meeting outside the station”.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) The phrase ''fare un brutto incontro'' means to run into criminals on one's way.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}