direttore Italian · revision 38434

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=14th century, Rinaldeschi|origins=la dīrigō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /di.retˈto.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''direttore''' ''m'' (plural direttori, feminine direttrice)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la-lat|director|alt=dīrēctor|t=one who directs]],^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) from [[m|la|dīrēctus|t=straight; directed]], the past participle of [[m|la|dīrigō|t=to set in a straight line; to direct]].^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) DELI thinks it reached Italian, like [[direzione]], probably through [[fr|directeur]] (end of the 15th century), and DEI and Gabrielli also give the French route.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|1318)^(Gabrielli 2020) Nocentini and GRADIT give the Late Latin word as the source and only compare the French one, with [[es|director]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

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+ The inherited outcome of the Latin participle is [[diritto]], which the LEI places beside [[ro|drept]], [[fr|droit]] and [[es|derecho]].^(LEI|2, 588)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The word is recorded once in the 14th century, in Rinaldeschi, and again in the 15th in Leon Battista Alberti, but it came into general use only in the 17th century: Carlo Dati used it before 1621, for someone who directs an enterprise.^(DELI 1999) In Guido Bentivoglio the ''direttore'' of a negotiation is the man in charge of it.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The modern range of the word grew with the institutions it named: directors of manufactures, academies and public institutes in the 18th and 19th centuries, the director of a newspaper, of the police or of a hospital, and the spiritual ''direttore di coscienza'', who need not be one's confessor.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The ''direttore d'orchestra'' replaced the older ''capo d'orchestra''.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

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+ Beccaria used the word as an adjective, “giving direction”, about 1771, and the feminine ''direttrice'' in 1787; in geometry ''direttrice'' is recorded from Maria Gaetana Agnesi in 1748.^(DELI 1999) In the French Revolution the ''direttori'' were the five members of the Directory, and in radio a ''direttore'' is an element that increases the gain of a television aerial in one direction (1966).^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 14th century – An isolated record in Rinaldeschi.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 15th century – Leon Battista Alberti uses the word.^(DELI 1999)

+ * End of the 15th century – French ''directeur'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1621 – Carlo Dati uses ''direttore'', which now enters general use.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1748 – Maria Gaetana Agnesi uses ''direttrice'' in geometry.^(DELI 1999)

+ * About 1771 – Cesare Beccaria uses ''direttore'' as an adjective.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1966 – The sense “element of a television aerial” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|director]], [[m|en|manager]]: the person in charge of a company, institution, office or activity, such as a bank, a school or a museum: ''Vorrei parlare con il direttore dell'albergo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The [[m|en|editor]] of a newspaper or magazine.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(music)'' A [[m|en|conductor]], in ''direttore d'orchestra''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(history)'' One of the five members of the French [[m|en|Directory]] of 1795.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(electronics)'' A passive element that increases the gain of a television aerial in one direction.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Directing, guiding, fundamental: ''un principio direttore''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' Relating to the orientation of a directed line: ''coseni direttori''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[direttrice]]

+ * [[condirettore]]

+ * [[sottodirettore]]

+ * [[direttorato]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[diretto]]

+ * [[direttoriale]]

+ * [[direttorio]]

+ * [[direzione]]

+ * [[dirigenza]]

+ * [[dirigere]]

+ * [[diritto]]

+ * [[fr|directeur]]

+ * [[la|director]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The feminine is ''direttrice''.^(Wiktionary)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Many compounds name particular posts: ''direttore artistico'', ''direttore della fotografia'' (director of photography), ''direttore sportivo'', ''direttore di gara'' (referee) and ''direttore spirituale''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}