compagno Italian · revision 38171

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1211, Florentine document|origins=la-lat compāniō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /komˈpaɲ.ɲo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''compagno''' ''m'' (plural compagni, feminine compagna)^(Wiktionary)

+ The feminine is ''compagna''; an old feminine ''compagnessa'' is obsolete.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|compāniō|t=companion]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Italian continues the nominative (Nocentini says the vocative), while the accusative gave [[compagnone]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) The Latin word is first found in the Salic Law, in the 6th century, and means “one who eats bread with another”, from [[m|la|cum|t=with]] and [[m|la|pānis|t=bread]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)^(LEI|16, 187)

+

+ Most scholars see in it a calque of a Germanic word of the same make-up, [[got|𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌱𐌰|tr=gahlaiba|t=messmate]], brought into the Roman army by Germanic soldiers.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Prati 1951|315) The LEI summarizes this view, after the FEW: the smallest Germanic army units ate together and were named after their large loaf, as in [[goh|galeipo]], and the term was translated into military Latin; it adds that the origin is still debated.^(LEI|16, 187)^(REW 1935) Tommaseo had rejected the explanation from eating bread together.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ The same word is [[fro|compain]] (modern [[fr|copain]]), [[pro|companh]], [[ca|company]] and [[es|compaño]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is a Florentine document of 1211, where DELI finds the sense “partner in a business”; the sense “one who habitually keeps company with others in an activity” follows in 1282.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Before 1332 Alberto della Piagentina uses the word for someone bound to others by spiritual affinity or a shared fate.^(DELI 1999) The ''Ottimo'' commentary on Dante, as Tommaseo reports, distinguished ''sodali'', companions at table, ''socii'', companions in battle, and ''compagni'', companions on the road.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Derivatives are early: ''accompagnare'' from the early 13th century, ''compagnia'' at the end of the 13th, ''compagnevole'' in Dante.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ As a form of address among socialists and communists, ''compagno'' is recorded in 1872, at the first national conference of the Italian sections of the International, and was already in use in the revolutionary years of 1797.^(DELI 1999) DELI and Devoto–Oli take it from French ''compagnon'', winning out over ''fratello'' and ''cittadino'', and independent of [[ru|товарищ|tr=tovarišč]], which took its political sense only at the end of the 19th century;^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(DEI|1034) DEI instead calls it a calque of the Russian word.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(DEI|1034)

+

+ Modern Italian also uses it for a partner one lives with without being married, for a team-mate, and, as an adjective, for the other of a pair (''la scarpa compagna'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1211 – A Florentine document uses ''compagno'' for a business partner.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)

+ * Early 13th century – ''Accompagnare'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1282 – The sense “companion in an activity” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * End of the 13th century – ''Compagnia'' appears in the ''Novellino''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1332 – Alberto della Piagentina uses it for a companion in fate or spirit.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1797 – The political form of address is in use in the revolutionary years.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1872 – It is used at the first national conference of the Italian sections of the International.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|companion]], a person who shares an activity or condition with others, as in ''compagno di scuola'' and ''compagno di viaggio''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(sport)'' A [[m|en|team-mate]]; a partner in a game or race for two.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A [[m|en|partner]] in life; especially the person one lives with without being married: ''Vive con il suo compagno da dieci anni.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(politics)'' [[m|en|comrade]], the form of address among socialists and communists; a left-winger.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # (usually plural) A business partner, as in firm names of the type ''Ferri e Compagni''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(astronomy)'' The fainter star of a binary star.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The male or female of a pair of animals.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(familiar)'' Matching, alike; forming a pair with another: ''Non trovo più il guanto compagno.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[compagnia]]

+ * [[accompagnare]]

+ * [[accompagnamento]]

+ * [[compagnevole]]

+ * [[scompagnare]]

+ * [[scompagnato]]

+ * [[compagnaccio]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[compagnone]]

+ * [[pane]]

+ * [[fr|copain]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A ''compagno di strada'' is a fellow traveller, someone who sides with a party, especially the communists, without joining it.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}