sbagliato Italian · revision 37858

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1839}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /zbaʎˈʎa.to/^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Forms==

+ '''sbagliato''' (feminine sbagliata, masculine plural sbagliati, feminine plural sbagliate, superlative sbagliatissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the past participle of [[sbagliare|t=to make a mistake]], used as an adjective.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) That verb is probably [[abbagliare|t=to dazzle]] with the prefix changed, and Nocentini notes that it was first used reflexively, meaning to be dazzled and so to be mistaken.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) DEI connects it with an older [[roa-oit|babliare]], of which the participle [[m|roa-oit|bagliato]] is recorded in the 14th century.^(DEI|3350) The base is that of [[bagliore|t=glare]], whose origin is debated: Nocentini traces it to [[la-vul|*balius]], from [[grc|βαλιός|tr=baliós|t=white-spotted]], while the LEI prefers a pre-Roman, perhaps Celtic, word for shining.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI dates the adjective to 1839, in the Milanese press, with the sense “erroneous”.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) In the revised ''Promessi sposi'' (1840–1842), Manzoni wrote ''era stato un tentativo sbagliato'' “it had been a mistaken attempt” where the edition of 1825–1827 had ''manchevole'' “deficient”.^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb ''sbagliare'' is older: Nocentini dates it to about 1440, and DELI and DEI to Magalotti in 1666, with ''sbaglio'' “mistake” in Redi the same year.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|3350) Tommaseo's dictionary records ''sbagliato'' for a copy not made exactly, a line of verse that breaks the metre, an unsound judgement and an undertaking that missed its point.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

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+ The ''vita sbagliata'', a life that went astray, was a phrase of Tommaseo's time, and Carducci wrote ''Tutta la mia vita è una cosa sbagliata'' “my whole life is a mistake”.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(GDLI|17, 625) Modern dictionaries add the senses “unsuitable, ill-timed” (''il momento sbagliato'') and “taken for another” (''il numero sbagliato'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1440 – The verb ''sbagliare'' is first recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1666 – Magalotti uses ''sbagliare'' for “to make a mistake”, and Redi uses ''sbaglio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1839 – ''Sbagliato'' “erroneous” appears in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1840–1842 – Manzoni uses it in the revised ''Promessi sposi''.^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|wrong]], incorrect, [[m|en|erroneous]]: ''una risposta sbagliata''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Badly done or carried out: ''Il conto è sbagliato, rifallo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Badly conceived, unsuccessful: ''un progetto sbagliato''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Unsuitable, ill-chosen, ill-timed: ''Sei arrivato proprio nel momento sbagliato.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Taken for another, not the intended one: ''Ho chiamato il numero sbagliato.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sbagliare]]

+ * [[sbaglio]]

+ * [[abbagliare]]

+ * [[bagliore]]

+ * [[abbaglio]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Partire con il piede sbagliato'' means to get off on the wrong foot.^(GRADIT 2003)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}