battere Italian · revision 38258

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=12th century, Proverbia que dicuntur|origins=la battuō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈbat.te.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''battere''' (first-person singular present bàtto, first-person singular past historic battéi, past participle battùto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian forms include ''batere'' (Venetian), ''batare'' (Verona), ''bactere'' and ''battare'' (Tuscany).^(LEI)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|battō|alt=battere]], the popular form recorded from Fronto in the 2nd century AD, which replaced classical [[m|la|battuō|alt=battuere]], used since Plautus.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|462)^(DÉRom) The word continues in every Romance language: [[fr|battre]], [[oc|batre]], [[ca|batre]], [[es|batir]], [[pt|bater]], [[sc|bàttire]], [[fur|bati]] and [[ro|bate]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DÉRom)^(LEI) In many of them it pushed out the classical verb for “to strike”, [[la|feriō]].^(DÉRom)

+

+ The origin of the Latin verb is unknown.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|462)^(GRADIT 2003) Nocentini notes doubtful Celtic comparisons, the OLD calls it Gallic, and Wiktionary suggests a borrowing from Gaulish or Germanic, perhaps ultimately onomatopoeic, compared with [[cy|bathu|t=to coin]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) Devoto takes the double ⟨tt⟩ as expressive.^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the Venetian ''Proverbia que dicuntur'' of the 12th century.^(TLIO) DELI and the LEI date the sense “to strike, to hit” to Giacomo da Lentini, around 1250.^(DELI 1999)^(LEI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already used the verb for a heart that beats (Bono Giamboni, before 1292), for rain falling hard (Dante, 1300–1313) and for knocking at a door (Boccaccio, 1353).^(DELI 1999) The TLIO adds threshing grain, working wool, minting coin and striking fire from a flint.^(TLIO) In 1290 the rule of a confraternity at Cividale del Friuli asks each brother to beat his body as hard as he can (''quanto el po batir lo so corpo''), and the flagellants were called ''battuti''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ “To defeat” is first recorded in Pietro Bembo, before 1547, and ''battersela'', to slip away, in Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger in 1618.^(DELI 1999) ''Battere la fiacca'', to idle, comes from Piedmontese or from army slang modelled on ''battere la ritirata''.^(DELI 1999) In the 20th century the verb came to mean typing (''battere a macchina'') and, with no object, walking the streets as a prostitute, as in Pasolini.^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI|Supplemento 2009) Italian forms dozens of compounds of the type ''batticuore'' (a racing heart, before 1556) and ''battibecco'' (a squabble, 1848).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 2nd century – Fronto writes Latin ''battere''.^(DELI 1999)^(DÉRom)

+ * 12th century – The Venetian ''Proverbia que dicuntur'' use the verb.^(TLIO)

+ * Around 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses it for striking.^(DELI 1999)^(LEI)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for the heart's beating.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1290 – A confraternity at Cividale prescribes self-flagellation with ''batir''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1353 – Boccaccio uses ''battere'' for knocking at a door.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1547 – Pietro Bembo uses it for defeating.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1618 – ''Battersela'' appears in Buonarroti the Younger.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(transitive)'' To [[m|en|beat]], to strike repeatedly: ''battere il ferro sull'incudine''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To hit a person or animal, to beat.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(transitive, agriculture)'' To [[m|en|thresh]] grain, or to knock fruit from a tree: ''battere le olive''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To [[m|en|defeat]], to beat: ''Ha battuto il campione in due set.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(transitive)'' Of a clock or bell, to strike the hours, or to mark the rhythm: ''battere il tempo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To knock a part of the body against something: ''Ho battuto il ginocchio contro il tavolo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To type: ''battere a macchina un verbale''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To scour or patrol an area: ''La polizia ha battuto tutto il quartiere.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(transitive, sport)'' To take a kick, or to serve in tennis and volleyball: ''battere una rimessa laterale''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' Of the heart, to [[pulsare|alt=beat]], and of rain or the sun, to beat down: ''Il sole batteva sui tetti.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''(intransitive, colloquial)'' To work as a street prostitute.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(pronominal, battersi)'' To fight, to duel: ''battersi per la libertà''.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[battente]]

+ * [[battito]]

+ * [[battuta]]

+ * [[battuto]]

+ * [[battitore]]

+ * [[battitura]]

+ * [[battigia]]

+ * [[battibaleno]]

+ * [[battibecco]]

+ * [[batticuore]]

+ * [[battimano]]

+ * [[battistrada]]

+ * [[battiscopa]]

+ * [[imbattersi]]

+ * [[ribattere]]

+ * [[sbattere]]

+ * [[controbattere]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[abbattere]]

+ * [[battaglia]]

+ * [[batteria]]

+ * [[batterista]]

+ * [[combattere]]

+ * [[dibattere]]

+ * [[fr|battre]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Fixed phrases include ''battere cassa'', to ask for money, ''battere il ferro finché è caldo'', to strike while the iron is hot, ''battere la fiacca'', to slack off, and ''in un battibaleno'', in a flash.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}