insegnare Italian · revision 38132

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=13th century; 1275, Soffredi del Grazia|origins=la signum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /in.seɲˈɲa.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''insegnare''' (first-person singular present inségno, first-person singular past historic insegnài, past participle insegnàto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|īnsignō|t=to imprint signs]], a verb of the Latin glosses, formed with an intensive [[m|la|in-]] from [[m|la|signō|t=to mark; to show, explain]], in the sense “to show, explain” that the verb had in imperial Latin.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2047)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Nocentini sees the meaning develop from “to imprint signs” through “to signify, to convey information” to “to instruct”.^(Nocentini 2010) In the glosses the Latin verb translates [[grc|ἐγχαράσσω|tr=encharássō|t=to engrave]].^(DEI|2047)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Migliorini suggested that the Latin words for learning and teaching that Romance kept arose in student slang, at a time when fewer people went to school: the verb would first have meant “to engrave”, then “to drum into someone's head”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|8, 94)

+

+ The verb is panromance: [[fr|enseigner]], [[oc|ensenhar]], [[ca|ensenyar]], [[es|enseñar]], [[pt|ensinar]] and [[ro|însemna|t=to mean]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907) DEI notes that in much of the South it gave way to descendants of a [[la-vul|*invitiō]].^(DEI|2047) The base noun [[la|signum|t=mark, sign]] is traced by de Vaan to a [[itc-pro|*sekno-]], and further to the root of [[m|la|secō|t=to cut]]: a sign was first something cut or carved out.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is an anonymous 13th-century text, and a letter of Soffredi del Grazia of 1275 speaks of the “volontà d'aparare e d'insegnare” (the will to learn and to teach).^(DELI 1999) The sense was “to explain a subject, an art or a craft to someone step by step so that they learn it”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The older sense “to show, point out” is in Dante (1313–1319), and in Boccaccio it means pointing out where someone or something is.^(DELI 1999)^(Prati 1951|561) Wiktionary still records “to show” as dated Roman usage, a sense that Spanish [[m|es|enseñar]] keeps.^(Wiktionary) The moral sense, “to shape someone's conduct by rules and example”, is in Bartolomeo da San Concordio before 1347, and the intransitive use “to work as a teacher” in Francesco da Barberino before 1348.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The noun ''insegnamento'' is in Pier della Vigna before 1249 in the sense “precept”, and in Brunetto Latini before 1292.^(DELI 1999) ''Insegnante'', first a participle, became the noun for a qualified teacher in Tommaseo's dictionary of 1869.^(DELI 1999) Tommaseo thought the verb wider than ''ammaestrare'' and than Latin ''docere'', since it reaches the mind, the heart and outward things alike.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – An anonymous text has the first record.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1249 – Pier della Vigna uses ''insegnamento''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1275 – Soffredi del Grazia pairs ''aparare'' and ''insegnare''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1313–1319 – Dante uses the sense “to show, point out”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1347 – Bartolomeo da San Concordio uses the moral sense.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1348 – Francesco da Barberino uses it of working as a teacher.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1869 – ''Insegnante'' is recorded as a noun for a teacher.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|teach]] a subject, an art or a skill so that someone learns it: ''Mia nonna mi ha insegnato a fare la pasta in casa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To make someone learn something by heart, such as a prayer or a poem.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # To work as a teacher, often without an object: ''Insegna storia in un liceo di Bari.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # To teach a way of behaving or a moral rule: ''I miei genitori mi hanno insegnato il rispetto per gli anziani.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # In rebukes and threats: ''Ti insegno io a rientrare a quest'ora!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Of an experience or an example, to be a lesson: ''Quella sconfitta ci ha insegnato parecchio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # To [[m|en|show]], point out: ''Mi può insegnare la via per il porto?''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[insegnamento]]

+ * [[insegnante]]

+ * [[insegnabile]]

+ * [[insegnatore]]

+ * [[insegnativo]]

+ * [[reinsegnare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[segno]]

+ * [[segnare]]

+ * [[la|signum]]

+ * [[fr|enseigner]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Come lei m'insegna'' and ''come tu m'insegni'' are polite, often ironic, formulas that introduce something obvious, as if the listener knew it better.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) A proverb says ''chi sa fa e chi non sa insegna'': those who know a trade practise it, those who don't teach it.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}