cantare Italian · revision 38144

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 12th century, Ritmo di sant'Alessio|origins=la canō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kanˈta.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cantare''' (first-person singular present cànto, first-person singular past historic cantài, past participle cantàto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|cantō|t=to sing]], the frequentative or intensive of [[m|la|canō|t=to sing]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) In Latin the derived verb took the place of the irregular older verb as early as the 3rd century BC, and the older verb has left no Romance descendants.^(LEI|10, 1336)^(DÉRom) Every Romance language has the verb: [[fr|chanter]], [[oc|cantar]], [[ca|cantar]], [[es|cantar]], [[pt|cantar]], [[sc|cantare]], [[fur|cjantâ]] and [[ro|cânta]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(LEI|10, 1336)

+

+ Nocentini compares the Latin verb with [[sga|canaid|alt=canim|t=I sing]], [[grc|καναχή|tr=kanakhḗ|t=din, clatter]] and [[goh|hano|t=rooster]], the ancestor of [[de|Hahn]].^(Nocentini 2010) DEI explains the rooster as the bird that sings early in the morning,^(DEI|726) and Devoto notes that the root named ritual singing in Italic and Celtic but the cock's crow or a mere noise in Germanic and Greek.^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is the ''Ritmo di sant'Alessio'', a poem from the Marche of the second half of the 12th century, in the sense “to sing”: “tutti gìanu cantando ad alta voce” (they all went singing aloud).^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)^(GDLI) In the first half of the 13th century the verb is in Odo delle Colonne, one of the Sicilian poets.^(LEI|10, 1336)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already used the verb for singing the Mass, for birdsong, for playing an instrument and for an instrument's own sound, for telling a story in verse and celebrating someone in poetry, and for proclaiming something solemnly.^(TLIO) The infinitive used as a noun, ''il cantare'', meant singing or a song, and in the 14th and 15th centuries it became the name of a genre: the ''cantari'' were popular narrative poems on epic and chivalric subjects, usually in ottava rima, recited in the squares by storytellers.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ Ariosto used the verb in 1528 for “to tell, to confess”, and in modern slang ''cantare'' is what an arrested criminal does when he gives away his accomplices.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) Engines, old shoes and creaking hinges can “sing” too.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The proverb ''carta canta e villan dorme'' (paper sings and the peasant sleeps) recommends putting agreements in writing.^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ The family grew with ''cantante'' (before 1292), ''canticchiare'' (1531), ''cantata'', first the musical composition (1612), ''cantastorie'' (1845) and ''cantautore'', a singer of his own songs (1961).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – The ''Ritmo di sant'Alessio'' has the first record.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)

+ * First half of the 13th century – Odo delle Colonne uses ''cantare''.^(LEI|10, 1336)

+ * Before 1249 – The infinitive is used as a noun, “song, singing”.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''cantante''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1528 – Ariosto uses the verb for “to tell, to confess”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1612 – ''Cantata'' is recorded as a musical composition.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1845 – ''Cantastorie'' appears in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1961 – ''Cantautore'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|sing]] something, to perform it with the voice: ''Al matrimonio hanno cantato una vecchia canzone napoletana.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To sing, to make music with the voice: ''Mia nonna cantava sempre mentre cucinava.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # To sing as a profession or an amateur: ''Da ragazzo cantava nel coro della scuola.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Of birds and some insects, to make their call: ''All'alba cantavano i merli nel giardino.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Of a musical instrument, to sound sweetly; of an engine, to run with a full, even [[m|en|roar]]: ''Sentivo cantare il violino dalla finestra aperta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To creak or squeak.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # To [[declamare|alt=declaim]] in a singsong voice.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(literary)'' To tell in verse, to [[celebrare|alt=celebrate]] someone in poetry.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(slang)'' To confess, to [[m|en|inform]] on one's accomplices: ''Dopo due giorni d'interrogatorio il ladro ha cantato.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(singular)'' Singing, song: ''il cantare dei grilli''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(literature)'' A ''cantare'', a popular narrative poem of the 14th and 15th centuries, usually in ottava rima, on epic or chivalric subjects; also each of its cantos.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cantante]]

+ * [[cantata]]

+ * [[cantabile]]

+ * [[cantastorie]]

+ * [[cantautore]]

+ * [[canticchiare]]

+ * [[canterellare]]

+ * [[canterino]]

+ * [[cantafavola]]

+ * [[decantare]]

+ * [[ricantare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[canoro]]

+ * [[cantica]]

+ * [[cantico]]

+ * [[cantilena]]

+ * [[canto]]

+ * [[cantore]]

+ * [[canzone]]

+ * [[la|canō]]

+ * [[fr|chanter]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Canta che ti passa'' (sing and it will pass) is a joking way of telling someone not to worry too much.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) Old Italian also had a different ''cantare'', a variant of ''cantaro'', a measure of weight.^(DEI|726)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}