esame Italian · revision 38245

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1306, Jacopone da Todi|origins=la agō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /eˈza.me/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''esame''' ''m'' (plural esami)^(Wiktionary)

+ The spelling [[roa-oit|exame]] is also found.^(TLIO) An older learned form, [[esamine]], built on the Latin stem, is recorded in the 16th century.^(DEI|1529)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|exāmen|t=tongue of a balance; weighing, examination]], a learned word.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin noun first meant the pointer of a pair of scales, and so the act of weighing and testing.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) It is derived from [[m|la|exigō|t=to weigh, measure exactly]], a compound of [[m|la|ex-|t=out]] and [[m|la|agō|t=to drive, lead]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GDLI) The OLD reconstructs the noun as [[m|la|*exagsmen]], and Wiktionary as [[m|la|*exagmen]] with the instrument suffix [[m|la|-men]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) Isidore of Seville defines the word as the middle thread by which the beam of the balance is ruled and the pans are made equal.^(GDLI)

+

+ The same Latin noun also meant a swarm of bees, and in that sense it was inherited as [[sciame|t=swarm]], the popular doublet.^(Wiktionary)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The LEI gives the swarm sense an article of its own: following the great Latin thesaurus, it explains it from the sense “to drive out” of the verb, since a swarm leaves the old hive to found a new one.^(LEI|21, 893) The learned word is [[fr|examen]], recorded in 1372, and [[es|examen]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|1529)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the poems of Jacopone da Todi, who died in 1306, in the sense of a careful weighing of something that leads to a judgement.^(TLIO)^(GRADIT 2003) DELI notes that the word appears there only once and came into general use in the 17th century.^(DELI 1999) Old Italian also had the legal phrase ''sotto l'esame di'', under the authority and approval of someone.^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb [[esaminare]] is older than the noun: Bono Giamboni uses it before 1292, and Dante has ''esaminatore'' in 1304–1308.^(DELI 1999) The school and university sense, a test that a candidate takes to show what they know, is first recorded in Sforza Pallavicino, before 1667.^(DELI 1999) Tommaseo's dictionary still explained the word from its Latin image of the balance.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ In the modern language ''esame'' covers any close inspection, chemical and medical analyses, and in law the questioning of a defendant or witness.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Religious language has the ''esame di coscienza'', the review of one's sins before confession, and the ''libero esame'' of the Protestant churches, the believer's right to read Scripture without the mediation of the Church.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) ''Esaminando'' “candidate” is recorded in 1803 and ''riesame'' “re-examination” in 1932.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses the verb ''esaminare''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1306 – Jacopone da Todi uses ''esame''.^(TLIO)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses ''esaminatore''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1372 – French ''examen'' is recorded.^(DEI|1529)

+ * 16th century – The form ''esamine'' is recorded.^(DEI|1529)

+ * Before 1667 – Sforza Pallavicino uses the word for a test taken by a candidate.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1797 – ''Esaminabile'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1932 – ''Riesame'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|examination]], careful consideration of something or someone in order to judge it: ''Il progetto è ancora all'esame del consiglio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A chemical or physical [[m|en|analysis]], and in medicine a diagnostic test: ''un esame del sangue''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # An [[m|en|exam]], a test that a student or candidate takes to show their knowledge or fitness: ''Domani ho l'esame di storia.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(law)'' The [[interrogatorio|alt=questioning]] of a defendant or witness.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[esaminare]]

+ * [[esaminatore]]

+ * [[esaminando]]

+ * [[esaminabile]]

+ * [[riesame]]

+ * [[disamina]]

+ * [[controesame]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[disaminare]]

+ * [[riesaminare]]

+ * [[sciame]]

+ * [[esigere]]

+ * [[la|exāmen]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''dare'' or ''sostenere un esame'' (to take an exam), ''superare un esame'' (to pass one), ''prendere in esame'' (to consider), ''esame di maturità'', ''esame di Stato'' and ''esame di coscienza''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) An old ''esame'' “swarm of bees”, a variant of ''sciame'', is found in Giovanni Rucellai and other 16th-century poets.^(GDLI)^(LEI|21, 893)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}