impazzire Italian · revision 38406

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1306, Jacopone da Todi}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /im.patˈt͡si.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''impazzire''' (first-person singular present impazzìsco, first-person singular past historic impazzìi, past participle impazzìto, auxiliary èssere)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include ''impascire'', ''’mpascire'', ''empazzire'' and ''’mpazzire''.^(TLIO)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed in Italian from [[pazzo|t=mad]], [[af|it|in-|pazzo|-ire]], with the prefix of movement into a state, like [[impazzare]] beside it.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Devoto–Oli takes the prefix as [[in-]] of the same kind.^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Alfredo Petrocchi noted in 1887 that “impazzire” was the common word for the illness, “impazzare” the emphatic and figurative one.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is an anonymous 13th-century poem from Urbino.^(TLIO) DELI's first date is Jacopone da Todi, before 1306, in the form ''’mpascire'', with the sense “to go mad”; the form ''impazzire'' follows in a 14th-century translation of St Augustine.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian the verb meant to lose one's reason, to lose patience and act rashly, of animals to bolt in a sudden fit, and, with the love of God or a passion, to be carried away; it could also be transitive, “to drive mad”.^(TLIO) Antonio Fileremo Fregoso has the sense “to be overwhelmed by a passion” in 1510, and Petrocchi in 1887 “to lose one's head over a hard or tedious job”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Southern Italian dialects and regional Italian use a pronominal ''impazzirsi'', recorded from the 18th century.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) In modern Italian the verb is used hyperbolically for strong feelings and passions (''impazzire di gioia'', ''da impazzire'' “terribly, madly”), for a sauce such as mayonnaise that curdles, and for instruments that go haywire.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – An anonymous poem from Urbino has the first record.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1306 – Jacopone da Todi uses ''’mpascire''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – ''Impazzire'' appears in a translation of St Augustine.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1510 – Antonio Fileremo Fregoso uses it for being carried away by passion.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1770 – The pronominal ''impazzirsi'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1887 – Petrocchi records the sense “to lose one's head over a task”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(intransitive, auxiliary essere)'' To go [[m|en|mad]], lose one's reason: ''Dopo la guerra il poveretto impazzì.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(hyperbolic)'' To behave absurdly: ''Ma sei impazzito a guidare così?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To lose one's patience or self-control: ''Questo rumore mi fa impazzire.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To be beside oneself with a feeling or a pain: ''impazzire di gelosia'', ''impazzire dal mal di denti''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To be crazy about someone or something: ''Mia figlia impazzisce per i cavalli.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To rack one's brains over a difficult task: ''Siamo impazziti per trovare l'errore.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Of an instrument or device, to go [[m|en|haywire]]; of a market or the weather, to behave erratically.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(cooking)'' Of a sauce such as [[m|en|mayonnaise]], to curdle.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[impazzimento]]

+ * [[rimpazzire]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[impazzare]]

+ * [[pazzo]]

+ * [[ammattire]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Da impazzire'' is used as an intensifier, “madly, terribly”: ''è buono da impazzire''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}