cattivo Italian · revision 37888

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=13th century, Gerardo Patecchio|origins=la capiō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /katˈti.vo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cattivo''' (feminine cattiva, masculine plural cattivi, feminine plural cattive, superlative cattivissimo, adverb cattivamente, diminutive cattivetto, endearing cattivuccio, diminutive-endearing cattivello)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|captīvus|t=captive, prisoner]], from [[m|la|captus|t=taken]], the past participle of [[m|la|capiō|t=to take]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(OLD 2012) The sense “wicked” comes from the phrase [[la-ecc|captīvus diabolī|t=prisoner of the devil]] of Christian writers, in which the adjective came to stand for the whole.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Devoto 1968) Meyer-Lübke also saw a Christian view in it, the captive of the devil or of evil.^(REW 1935)

+

+ The word survives in the whole Romance area except Romanian.^(LEI|11, 969) [[es|cautivo]] and [[pt|cautivo]] kept the sense “captive”, while [[fr|chétif]] and [[pro|caitiu]] moved, like the Italian word, towards “wretched” and “bad”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|817) For the French and Occitan forms the LEI considers a variant [[la-vul|*cactīvus]], with -ct- for -pt-, whereas Italian shows the assimilation of -pt- to -tt-.^(LEI|11, 969) The learned [[captivo]] is its doublet.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record of the adjective is in the ''Splanamento'' of Gerardo Patecchio of Cremona (13th century), and of the noun in a Sienese letter of 1260.^(TLIO) DELI finds ''hom cativo'' in Salimbene's chronicle (1281–1288) and dates the sense “contrary to the moral law” to Dino Compagni (1310–1312), who calls an envoy “uomo disleale e cattivo, quantunque in apparenza paresse buono e benigno” (a disloyal and wicked man, though he seemed good and kind).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In early Italian the word still often meant “captive”, as in Dante's “Ecuba trista, misera e cattiva” (Hecuba, sad, wretched and captive).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861|1, 1297) Antonino Pagliaro, quoted by DELI, argued that in Dante it means “wretched, defenceless against sin”, after Augustine's teaching that man is a prisoner of the devil until grace frees him.^(DELI 1999) The TLIO also records the senses “cowardly”, “unhappy” and “poor”, and DELI records its use for things unfit for their purpose from the 14th century.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ''Cattivo'' took over many uses of Latin ''malus'', which survives in phrases such as ''maltempo'' beside ''cattivo tempo''.^(GDLI) Southern Italy kept the Latin word for “bad” and gave ''cattivo'' another sense, “widowed”.^(DEI|817) Middle French ''cattif'' “bad” (16th century) was borrowed from Italian.^(DEI|817) The noun ''cattiveria'' appears in Bonvesin da la Riva (before 1315) as ''cativeria''; the old stress ''cattiverìa'' was the only one D'Alberti recorded in 1797, but by 1942 Migliorini found that ''cattivèria'' had won.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1260 – A Sienese letter has ''cattivo'' as a noun.^(TLIO)

+ * 1281–1288 – Salimbene's chronicle has ''hom cativo''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1315 – Bonvesin da la Riva uses ''cativeria''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni uses the word in the sense “wicked”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * About 1313 – Dante uses ''cattivo'' for “captive”.^(LEI|11, 969)

+ * 14th century – A Bible translation uses it for things unfit for their purpose.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 16th century – Middle French borrows the word as ''cattif''.^(DEI|817)

+ * 1797 – D'Alberti records only the stress ''cattiverìa''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|wicked]], bad, inclined to do harm: ''È un uomo cattivo e senza pietà.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Morally wrong; leading to evil: ''Quel ragazzo ha preso una cattiva strada.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Unkind, hostile; of a child, [[m|en|naughty]], disobedient: ''Non essere cattivo con tua sorella!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Of animals, fierce, aggressive: ''il lupo cattivo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Poor at a task or of poor quality; incorrect: ''Parla un cattivo tedesco.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Unpleasant, unfavourable: ''cattivo tempo'', ''cattivo odore''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(literary, archaic)'' Captive; wretched.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)^(TLIO)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A wicked person; in a story or film, the [[m|en|villain]].^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A naughty, disobedient person, especially a child.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wikizionario)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cattiveria]]

+ * [[cattività]]

+ * [[cattivare]]

+ * [[accattivare]]

+ * [[incattivire]]

+ * [[cattivello]]

+ * [[cattivamente]]

+ * [[cattivone]]

+ * [[cattivaccio]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[captivo]]

+ * [[la|captīvus]]

+ * [[fr|chétif]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The comparative is ''più cattivo'' or ''peggiore'', the superlative ''cattivissimo'' or ''pessimo''.^(Zingarelli 2010) In Sicily, Calabria, Taranto and Sardinia the feminine survives as a noun meaning “widow” ([[scn|cattiva]]), a trace of the old sense “wretched”.^(REW 1935)^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|818) ''Con le cattive'' means “by force, roughly”, as against ''con le buone''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}