dannato Italian · revision 38185

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1250, Venetian Pamphilus|origins=la damnum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /danˈna.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''dannato''' (feminine dannata, masculine plural dannati, feminine plural dannate, superlative dannatissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian spellings include the Latinizing [[m|roa-oit|dampnato]] and [[m|roa-oit|dapnato]], and the Venetian [[m|roa-oit|danado]].^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the past participle of [[dannare]], used as an adjective and a noun.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The verb continues [[la|damnō|t=to condemn; to fine]], a derivative of [[m|la|damnum|t=loss, harm; fine]], with the popular change of /mn/ to /nn/; learned forms that kept /mn/ spread in several Romance languages with the Christian sense “to damn”.^(LEI|19, 40) The LEI explains the senses from the Latin: “to harm” is the expected first meaning, “to fine, to sentence” comes from the noun in its technical sense of a fine, and Christian Latin narrowed the verb to “condemn to the pains of hell”, the usual sense of the Romance forms.^(LEI|19, 40)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the Venetian translation of the ''Pamphilus'', about 1250.^(TLIO) DELI dates ''dannato'' “condemned” to the ''Fatti di Cesare'' at the end of the 13th century, and “condemned to hell” to Malispini in the same century.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian the word meant condemned by a church or civil court as well as damned, and in the north also physically harmed or wounded: Old Lombard ''dannato'', Old Venetian ''danado''.^(TLIO)^(LEI|19, 40) Boccaccio's ''micidiali dannati'' are murderers sentenced to death, and Ariosto's ''giovine dannato ad esser morto'' a youth condemned to die.^(GDLI|4, 16) Tommaseo noted in 1861 that the general sense “condemned” was out of use and the word referred above all to the other world.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ From the damned soul came figurative uses: a wicked person (Manzoni's Renzo shouts ''Ah birbone! ah dannato!''), hyperbolic phrases such as ''lavorare come un dannato'', and the curse word of everyday speech, ''quel dannato telefono'', and ''un caldo dannato'', unbearable heat.^(GDLI|4, 16)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) In dialects the word has other uses: Milanese slang ''danà'' for the victim of a theft, and Genoese ''erba dannà'' for the Italian arum.^(LEI|19, 40)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1250 – The Venetian ''Pamphilus'' has the first record.^(TLIO)

+ * 13th century – Malispini uses ''dannato'' for a soul condemned to hell.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Late 13th century – The ''Fatti di Cesare'' uses it for “condemned”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1861 – Tommaseo notes that the general sense “condemned” is out of use.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|damned]], condemned to the pains of [[inferno|alt=hell]]: ''un'anima dannata''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Forced to endure hardship or pain: ''dannato a una vita di stenti''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' As a curse, [[maledetto|alt=cursed]], blasted: ''Dove ho messo quel dannato ombrello?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Terrible, unbearable: ''un mal di denti dannato'', ''nella dannata ipotesi'', in the worst case.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A damned soul: ''i dannati di Dante''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) ''Come un dannato'': furiously, without rest: ''lavorare come un dannato''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(by extension)'' A wicked person.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dannatamente]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dannare]]

+ * [[danno]]

+ * [[condannare]]

+ * [[dannazione]]

+ * [[la|damnum]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Anima dannata'' is also a wicked person, and ''essere l'anima dannata di qualcuno'' is to be the one who prompts or carries out their misdeeds.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}