incidente Italian · revision 37970

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1334, Ottimo commento|origins=la cadō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /in.t͡ʃiˈdɛn.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''incidente''' ''m or f'' by sense (plural incidenti)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|incidēns|t=falling upon, happening]], the present participle of [[m|la|incidō|t=to fall upon, befall]], a learned word handed down by the Scholastics.^(DEI)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003) The Latin verb is formed from [[m|la|in-|t=in, upon]] and [[m|la|cadō|t=to fall]], with the regular change of /a/ to /i/ in an open inner syllable.^(Devoto 1968)^(GDLI|7, 678) The noun, “unexpected event”, is the adjective used as a noun from the 17th century.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) DEI compares [[fr|incident]], recorded from the 13th century.^(DEI)

+

+ De Vaan reconstructs [[itc-pro|*kad-e/o-]] for [[m|la|cadō]] and compares [[sa|शद्|tr=śad-|t=to fall]]; the Indo-European root is uncertain.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the ''Ottimo commento'' on Dante's ''Inferno'' (Florence, before 1334), where the adjective describes a question brought in as a digression: “e solve alcuna incidente quistione” (and resolves some incidental question).^(TLIO)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In optics Lorenzo Ghiberti speaks of ''luce incidente'', Leonardo of the ''linia incidente'' that meets a surface, and Galileo of ''raggi incidenti'' reflected at equal angles.^(GDLI|7, 678)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ As a noun it first meant a negative event or a complication: before 1683 Vittorio Siri writes of the cardinal held back by “varii incidenti che traversavano la carriera delle prosperità della Francia” (various incidents that crossed the course of France's prosperity).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|7, 678) In 1693 Lorenzo Magalotti used it for an irrelevant digression or a side quarrel in a discussion, the sense of ''chiudere l'incidente'' “to consider the matter closed”.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010) The sense “accident, crash” spread through the newspapers from 1915, and it is now the usual word for a road or workplace accident.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Later phrases include ''incidente diplomatico'', ''incidente di percorso'' “a setback that does not stop the whole”, and in law ''incidente probatorio'', evidence taken before the trial.^(Treccani 2011)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1334 – The adjective is used in the ''Ottimo commento'' on Dante.^(TLIO)

+ * 15th century – Modern dictionaries date the adjective to this century.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ * Before 1683 – Vittorio Siri uses the noun for an untoward event.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1693 – Lorenzo Magalotti uses it for a side dispute in a discussion.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1915 – Newspapers use ''incidente'' for an accident or crash.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An unexpected event, usually unfortunate, that disturbs the normal course of things; a [[m|en|mishap]], an [[m|en|accident]]: ''Un piccolo incidente in cucina gli ha lasciato una cicatrice.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A road accident, a [[m|en|crash]] between vehicles or against an obstacle: ''Ieri sera c'è stato un incidente all'incrocio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A quarrel that breaks out during a discussion, often about something beside the point: ''chiudere l'incidente'', to consider the matter closed.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(law)'' A question arising in a trial that requires a separate decision, ''incidente probatorio'', evidence taken by the judge before the trial.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(physics)'' Falling on a surface: ''raggio incidente'', the [[m|en|incident]] ray.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(geometry)'' Of lines or planes, meeting at a point or along a line.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(grammar, rare)'' Incidental: ''proposizione incidente''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[incidentale]]

+ * [[incidentalmente]]

+ * [[incidentato]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[incidenza]]

+ * [[cadere]]

+ * [[caso]]

+ * [[fr|incident]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A second ''incidente'', the present participle of [[incidere]] “to cut, engrave”, from [[la|incīdō]], is used only in that verb's senses.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DEI)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}