missione Italian · revision 38411

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=14th century, Gregory the Great translation|origins=la mittō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /misˈsjo.ne/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''missione''' ''f'' (plural missioni)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|missio|alt=missiō|t=sending, dispatch; discharge]], from [[m|la|missus|t=sent]], the past participle of [[m|la|mittō|t=to send]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The Latin noun is formed from the verb with the suffix [[m|la|-tiō]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) Learned borrowings of the same Latin word are [[fr|mission]] and [[es|misión]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ Nocentini dates the sense “mandate, apostolate” to the 17th century, first in religion and then in secular use.^(Nocentini 2010) DEI ascribes the civil sense of an office or charge, from the 18th century, to [[fr|mission]], which had it from the 17th;^(DEI|2477) [[en|mission]] is recorded in 1692.^(DEI|2477) DELI quotes Rigutini (1886) on the same point: the religious sense goes back to the Gospel words “Ego mitto vos” (“I send you”), but the French extended it to any task, however humble, and used it for an embassy.^(DELI 1999) Treccani attributes the business sense of a company's main purpose to English.^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is a 14th-century Italian translation of Gregory the Great, with the sense “the act of sending or being sent to someone on a particular charge”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Girolamo Savonarola, before 1498, already used the word for work demanding self-sacrifice and complete devotion, and Scipione Ammirato in 1600 for a special and delicate charge.^(DELI 1999) The religious meaning, the mandate to preach the Gospel, especially among non-Christians, is recorded in Giovanni Pietro Maffei before 1603; from it came the mission station in Daniello Bartoli (1663), the courses of sermons held in parishes in Paolo Segneri before 1694, and ''missionario'' (1663, Bartoli).^(DELI 1999) The group of people sent on a task is recorded in 1699.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ In the 19th century purists such as Giuseppe Giusti mocked the fashion of calling every duty a ''missione''.^(DELI 1999) The modern word also names a scientific or space expedition, the business trip of an employee (''indennità di missione''), and in the history of Rome the discharge of soldiers from service.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 14th century – The first record, in a translation of Gregory the Great.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola uses it for a self-sacrificing task.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1600 – Scipione Ammirato uses it for a delicate charge.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1603 – Giovanni Pietro Maffei uses it for the mission to preach the Gospel.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1663 – Daniello Bartoli uses it for a mission station, and ''missionario'' appears.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1692 – English ''mission'' is recorded in the diplomatic sense.^(DEI|2477)

+ * 1699 – It is used for a group of envoys.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The sending of someone to carry out a task, especially an important, secret or dangerous one; the [[m|en|task]] itself: ''Il colonnello gli affidò una missione delicata.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A group of people sent on such a task; a [[m|en|delegation]]: ''la missione italiana a Bruxelles''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A scientific or space [[m|en|expedition]]: ''una missione verso la Luna''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(administration)'' A business trip made by an employee: ''indennità di missione''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(religion)'' The spreading of a faith, especially among non-Christians; the [[m|en|mission]] station where missionaries live and work, and the missionaries themselves.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A [[m|en|vocation]], a task carried out with complete devotion: ''Per lei curare i malati è una missione.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # The main purpose of a company or institution.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(history)'' In ancient Rome, the discharge of soldiers from service.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[missionario]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mettere]]

+ * [[messo]]

+ * [[la|missio]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A second ''missione'', a slow-drying transparent varnish used in gilding, is a different word: it comes from [[fr|mixtion|t=mixture]] and is recorded in 1957.^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI) DEI and Tommaseo also record an obsolete medical ''missione'' “letting of blood” in Francesco Redi.^(DEI|2477)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}