incredibile Italian · revision 38031

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1260–1261|origins=ine-pro *ḱred-dʰeh₁-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /in.kreˈdi.bi.le/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''incredibile''' ''m or f'' by sense (plural incredibili, adverb incredibilmente)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|incrēdibilis|t=unbelievable]], formed from [[m|la|in-|t=not]] and [[m|la|crēdibilis|t=believable]], from [[m|la|crēdō|t=to believe, entrust]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012) Latin later derived [[m|la|incrēdibilitās]] from it, the source of Italian [[incredibilità]].^(DELI 1999) The Latin adjective is found from Plautus on.^(de Vaan 2008) [[credere|alt=Credere]] goes back to the compound [[ine-pro|*ḱred-dʰeh₁-|t=to put one's heart (in)]], that is “to believe”.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ Old Italian also had the forms [[roa-oit|incredebile]], [[roa-oit|incredibole]] and [[roa-oit|incredevile]], the last with the ending of popular words.^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Nocentini dates the first record to 1260–1261, and GRADIT has the old variant ''incredebile'' before 1294.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) DELI's first record is Dante (1300–1313): ''ma la cosa incredibile mi fece / indurlo ad ovra ch'a me stesso pesa'' (“but the unbelievable thing made me lead him to a deed that weighs on me”), where the sense is “impossible to believe”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|7, 754)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante speaks again of ''cose incredibili'' in the ''Paradiso'', and Petrarch of one ''come chi mai cosa incredibil vide'' (“like one who never saw a thing so unbelievable”).^(GDLI|7, 754) Giordano da Pisa has the plural ''incredevili'' in 1305–1306.^(DELI 1999) An old sense “incredulous”, especially in matters of faith, is now obsolete.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The noun ''incredibilità'' is recorded before about 1451 in Giovanni Cavalcanti.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ In modern use the word is often hyperbolic, for something enormous or extraordinary, and it is common as an exclamation of surprise, ''incredibile!'' or ''è incredibile!''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1260–1261 – First record.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Before 1294 – The variant ''incredebile''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses ''incredibile'' in the ''Inferno''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1305–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses ''incredevili''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before c. 1451 – ''Incredibilità'' in Giovanni Cavalcanti.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Hard or impossible to believe; [[m|en|unbelievable]], [[inverosimile|alt=implausible]]: ''Mi ha raccontato una storia incredibile sul suo viaggio in Africa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In impersonal phrases and exclamations, expressing surprise or indignation: ''È incredibile che nessuno se ne sia accorto prima!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(hyperbolic)'' Very great, [[m|en|enormous]]: ''In quel periodo ho lavorato un numero incredibile di ore.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Extraordinary, exceptional: ''È una cantante di un talento incredibile.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' [[incredulo|alt=Incredulous]].^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(singular only)'' What is hard to believe, in ''avere dell'incredibile'', to seem almost unbelievable.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[incredibilità]]

+ * [[incredibilmente]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[credibile]]

+ * [[credere]]

+ * [[incredulo]]

+ * [[la|incredibilis]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}