crimine Italian · revision 38151

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1252–1258, Storie de Troia e de Roma (Rome)|origins=ine-pro *krey-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈkri.mi.ne/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''crimine''' ''m'' (plural crimini)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also had the shorter ''crime'' and a feminine ''crima''.^(DEI|1157)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|crīmen|t=charge, accusation; crime]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) GRADIT, Zingarelli and Gabrielli start from the Latin ablative, which Late Latin also used as a nominative.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Wiktionary) Iacopone's early plural is the Latin neuter plural.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)

+

+ The Latin noun first meant “a decision”, then in the language of law “the matter to be decided, the charge”, and finally the crime itself.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) It is formed from the root of [[la|cernō|t=to sift, distinguish, decide]], with the noun suffix [[m|la|-men]]; [[grc|κρίμα|tr=kríma|t=judgement]] corresponds to it.^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Indo-European [[m|ine-pro|*krey-|t=to sift, separate]] with the noun [[ine-pro|*krei-mn̥]], while the OLD calls the derivation doubtful.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) [[fr|crime]] and [[es|crimen]] have the same source.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the ''Storie de Troia e de Roma'', a Roman text of 1252–1258, for an act committed against the law and to the harm of others.^(TLIO) DELI first finds the Latin plural ''crimina'' in Iacopone da Todi, before 1306, in the phrase ''sine crimina'' “without sin”, and ''crimine'' in Filenio Gallo's ''Rime'', before 1503.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian the word was used both for crimes against the law and for sins against religious and moral values; the sense “sin” survives only in literature.^(TLIO)^(Zingarelli 2010) The Roman legal ''crimen laesae maiestatis'' appears as ''crimine lese maiestatis'', and Guicciardini writes of ''crimine della maestà lesa''.^(TLIO)^(GDLI) Tommaseo, in the 19th century, describes it as a legal term for the gravest offences.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ The adjective ''criminale'' is older in Italian than the noun's modern use: Brunetto Latini has it before 1294.^(DELI 1999) The noun ''criminale'' “criminal” is recorded in 1884, ''criminologia'' in 1885, and ''criminale di guerra'' from the Moscow Declaration of October 1944.^(DELI 1999) Today ''crimine'' also means crime as a social phenomenon, as in ''lotta al crimine''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) DIFIT records English ''crimine'', later ''criminy'', as a popular exclamation from 1681.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1252–1258 – The ''Storie de Troia e de Roma'' use the word.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses the adjective ''criminale''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi has the plural ''crimina''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1503 – Filenio Gallo uses ''crimine''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1681 – The English exclamation ''crimine'' is first recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1884 – ''Criminale'' is used as a noun for a criminal.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1885 – Raffaele Garofalo uses ''criminologia''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1944 – ''Criminale di guerra'' appears with the Moscow Declaration on atrocities.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A serious [[m|en|crime]], an especially grave or cruel offence: ''Il processo riguarda crimini commessi durante la dittatura.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Crime as a phenomenon, [[criminalità]]: ''Il governo ha promesso più fondi contro il crimine.''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(hyperbolic)'' A deplorable act: ''Buttare via questo pane è un crimine!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(literary, obsolete)'' A [[m|en|sin]].^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[criminale]]

+ * [[criminalità]]

+ * [[criminalista]]

+ * [[criminologia]]

+ * [[criminologo]]

+ * [[criminoso]]

+ * [[criminosità]]

+ * [[incriminare]]

+ * [[recriminare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cernere]]

+ * [[discrimine]]

+ * [[fr|crime]]

+ * [[la|crīmen]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Crimine di guerra'' (war crime) and ''crimine contro l'umanità'' (crime against humanity) are fixed terms of international law.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) Tommaseo distinguished ''crimine'', a legal term for offences punished with the heaviest penalties, from the more general ''delitto''.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}