camminare Italian · revision 38106

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1271–1275, Fiori di filosafi|origins=xtg *cammĭno-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kam.miˈna.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''camminare''' (first-person singular present cammìno, first-person singular past historic camminài, past participle camminàto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also wrote ''caminare'' with a single ⟨m⟩, the form of most northern and southern texts.^(TLIO)^(LEI|10, 186) The dialect forms include Genoese ''caminà'', Piedmontese ''caminè'' and Old Sicilian ''caminari''.^(LEI|10, 186)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|caminō|alt=camināre|t=to walk, travel]], a verb recorded in Venantius Fortunatus in the 6th century,^(LEI|10, 186) which Wiktionary gives as [[m|la-vul|*cammīnō|alt=*cammīnāre]].^(Wiktionary) DELI, GRADIT, the TLIO and Devoto treat the Italian verb as a derivative of [[cammino]] “way, road”, with the verb ending [[-are]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(TLIO)^(Devoto 1968) The noun is [[la-lat|camminus|t=road]], recorded from the 7th century, a word of Gaulish origin.^(LEI|10, 220)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|703) The LEI reconstructs [[xtg|*cammĭno-]] from Welsh and Breton words for “step”, and Nocentini traces it to [[cel-pro|*cengmen-|t=way, path]], beside [[sga|cingid|t=to step, walk]].^(LEI|10, 220)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The verb lives on in every Romance language except Romanian: [[fro|cheminer]], [[pro|caminar]], [[ca|caminar]], [[es|caminar]], [[pt|caminhar]], [[fur|ciaminâ]] and [[dlm|kaminúr]].^(LEI|10, 186)^(Wiktionary) The ⟨mm⟩ of the Tuscan word is not found in the southern forms;^(Wiktionary)^(DEI|703) Wiktionary notes that [[scn|caminu]] never doubled its consonant.^(Wiktionary)^(DEI|703)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the Florentine ''Fiori di filosafi'' of 1271–1275, where the verb means “to move from one place to another, to travel”.^(TLIO)^(DIFIT) DELI dates the transitive sense “to travel along (a road)” to Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294, and the sense “to go on foot” to the ''Novellino'' at the end of the 13th century.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian used the verb for any journey and for the apparent course of the sun, and figuratively for living, behaving in a certain way and making progress towards a goal.^(TLIO) Dante has it for conduct (1304–1308), and Old Italian also used the infinitive as a noun, ''il camminare'', for a journey or a way of walking.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The meaning “to go on foot” became the central one, as in Boccaccio's ''Decameron'' and the poems of Boiardo and Ariosto.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ In modern Italian the verb is also used of vehicles and machines that move or work, and of plans or business that go forward.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The imperative ''cammina!'' urges someone to hurry or to go away, and in fairy tales ''cammina cammina'' marks a long journey.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011) Other set phrases are ''camminare sulle uova'', to tread or act very cautiously, and ''camminare con le proprie gambe'', to manage on one's own.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) German fencing borrowed the verb as ''kaminieren'' in 1835, for evading the opponent's blade.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 6th century – Venantius Fortunatus uses Late Latin ''camināre''.^(LEI|10, 186)

+ * 1271–1275 – The ''Fiori di filosafi'' has the first Italian record.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses it transitively, “to travel along”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Late 13th century – The ''Novellino'' uses it for going on foot.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for a way of behaving.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1310 – Zucchero Bencivenni has the infinitive as a noun.^(TLIO)

+ * 1835 – German fencing borrows it as ''kaminieren''.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To [[m|en|walk]], to go on foot: ''Ogni sera camminiamo per un'ora lungo il fiume.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' Of a small child, to be able to walk: ''Sua figlia ha cominciato a camminare a un anno.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(intransitive, colloquial)'' To hurry up; in the imperative also used to send someone away or to express disbelief.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' Of a vehicle, to move or go fast; of a mechanism, to [[m|en|work]]: ''La vecchia sveglia non cammina più.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(intransitive, figurative)'' To make [[m|en|progress]], to develop: ''Il progetto finalmente cammina.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(transitive, literary)'' To travel along, to [[m|en|traverse]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(dated)'' Walking; a person's [[m|en|gait]].^(Wiktionary)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[camminata]]

+ * [[camminatore]]

+ * [[camminamento]]

+ * [[incamminarsi]]

+ * [[camminabile]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cammino]]

+ * [[fr|cheminer]]

+ * [[es|caminar]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The phrase ''camminare sulle uova'' (literally “to walk on eggs”) means to proceed with great caution, and ''sembrare un morto che cammina'' is said of someone who looks very ill.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) Zingarelli distinguishes ''camminare'', the general word, from ''incedere'', walking with solemnity, and ''arrancare'', walking with great effort.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}