collega Italian · revision 38296

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1321, Dante|origins=la collega}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kolˈlɛ.ɡa/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''collega''' ''m or f'' by sense (masculine plural colleghi, feminine plural colleghe)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old plurals include ''collegi'' and ''chollegi''.^(LEI|15, 792)^(Zingarelli 2010) Medieval documents also have a masculine Latin form ''collegus'', recorded at Bologna in 1252.^(DEI|1012)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|collēga|t=colleague in office]], a learned word.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010) The same Latin word was borrowed as [[fr|collègue]] (from about 1500), [[es|colega]] (1545), [[pt|colega]] (1650) and [[ca|col·lega]].^(LEI|15, 792)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The Latin noun is formed with [[m|la|con-|t=with]], and most sources take the rest from [[m|la|lēgō|t=to appoint, delegate]], so that a colleague was one chosen or delegated together with another.^(DELI 1999)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Zingarelli 2010) Nocentini derives it from [[la|lēx|t=law, agreement]], like [[m|la|collēgium]].^(Nocentini 2010) The DEI points out that ⟨collēga⟩ stands to ⟨collēgium⟩ as [[m|la|conviva|t=guest]] stands to [[m|la|convīvium|t=banquet]].^(DEI|1012)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Dante's ''Paradiso'' (before 1321), where Saint Dominic is the “worthy colleague” of Saint Francis in steering Peter's ship: ''degno / collega fu a mantener la barca''.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The sense is one who works with another towards a common end.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 14th century the word also named a fellow holder of a public office, as in Giovanni Villani, and a fellow member of a guild.^(LEI|15, 792)^(TLIO) The modern sense “fellow member of a profession or office” is recorded from Machiavelli, who wrote in 1513–1521 of a Roman tribune and his colleagues.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|3, 284)

+

+ Today ''collega'' names a fellow worker, especially in offices and the professions, and a fellow student at university.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) In jocular or literary use it can mean an accomplice, as in Manzoni's “colleague in libertinage”.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1252 – Medieval Latin ''collegus'' is recorded at Bologna.^(DEI|1012)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses ''collega'' in the ''Paradiso''.^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses the plural for fellow officials.^(LEI|15, 792)

+ * 1513–1521 – Machiavelli uses the word for a colleague in office.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|colleague]]: someone who does the same work, especially in an office: ''Stasera esco a cena con i colleghi.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A member of the same [[m|en|profession]]: ''L'avvocato si consultò con un collega.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A fellow student, especially at university (''collega d'università'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(jocular or literary)'' A partner in misdeeds, an [[m|en|accomplice]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[colleganza]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[collegio]]

+ * [[legare]]

+ * [[la|collēga]]

+ * [[fr|collègue]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The word is masculine or feminine according to the person, with plurals ''colleghi'' and ''colleghe''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) An obsolete feminine ''colléga'' “league, alliance”, formed from ''collegare'', is recorded in Giovanni Villani before 1348.^(DEI|1012)^(TLIO)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}