comandante Italian · revision 38317

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1342, Perugian statutes|origins=la mandō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ko.manˈdan.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''comandante''' ''m'' (plural comandanti)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the present participle [[der|it|comandare|t=to command]], used as an adjective and a noun.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary) The verb comes from [[la-vul|*commandō|alt=*commandāre]] “to entrust, to commend”, a form of [[la|commendō]], from [[m|la|mandō|t=to entrust]] with the prefix [[m|la|com-]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) The verb is shared with [[fr|commander]], [[oc|comandar]], [[ca|comanar]] and [[es|comandar]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the statutes of Perugia of 1342, where the word means a person who gives directions and coordinates an action; the TLIO also has it for an officer at the head of troops.^(TLIO) DELI dates the participle “who commands” to the late 14th century, in the Italian translation of Saint Augustine.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The participle long kept its verbal force: a translation of Augustine speaks of obeying “God commanding” (''Dio comandante''), and Benedetto Varchi of the “great command of the one commanding” expressed by the imperative.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(GDLI|3, 337) As a title of military rank it is recorded before 1680 in the writings of the general Raimondo Montecuccoli, for the commander of a formation, an army or a fleet.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ In the modern language ''comandante'' is a title in the army, the navy and the air force, the captain of a merchant ship, and the captain of an aircraft, who is responsible for the crew and the flight.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Colloquially it is also someone who likes to give orders.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1342 – ''Comandante'' appears in the statutes of Perugia.^(TLIO)

+ * Late 14th century – The participle “who commands” is used in the Italian translation of Saint Augustine.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1680 – Raimondo Montecuccoli uses it for the commander of a military formation.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who is in command; also someone who likes to order others about: ''Smettila di fare il comandante!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(military)'' A [[m|en|commander]], the officer at the head of a unit, a corps or an army: ''comandante in capo'', commander-in-chief, and ''comandante supremo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(nautical)'' The [[m|en|captain]] of a ship, and in the navy the officer commanding a warship or any senior naval officer, ''comandante in seconda'', the second in command.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(aviation)'' The captain of an aircraft, in charge of its crew and the flight.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Commanding, in command: ''l'ufficiale comandante''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sottocomandante]]

+ * [[vicecomandante]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[comandare]]

+ * [[comando]]

+ * [[comandamento]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}