mentire Italian · revision 38460

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1294, Guittone d'Arezzo|origins=la mēns}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /menˈti.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''mentire''' (first-person singular present ménto or (traditional) mènto or mentìsco, first-person singular past historic mentìi, past participle mentìto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|mentior|t=to lie; to invent]], used in Late Latin in the active form [[m|la-lat|mentiō|alt=mentīre]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) DELI and DEI call it a learned word, and DEI notes that spoken Italian and the dialects prefer a phrase with [[bugia|t=lie]] instead.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2425) Nocentini, however, counts it among the inherited words found in all the Romance languages: [[fr|mentir]], [[oc|mentir]], [[ca|mentir]], [[es|mentir]], [[pt|mentir]] and [[ro|minți]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907)

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+ The Latin verb is derived from [[m|la|mēns|t=mind]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968) Devoto reconstructs the development of its meaning as “to imagine”, then “to feign”, and then “to lie”.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto 1968)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294, in the sense “to say what is false, the opposite of what one believes true”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Zingarelli dates the verb before 1257.^(Zingarelli 2010)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb was used as a noun in Old Italian for “a lie”, as in Iacopone, Francesco da Barberino and the Bible translations.^(GDLI|10, 1)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The phrase ''mentire per la gola'', to lie shamelessly, is recorded in Venetian in 1312, and Luigi Pulci has ''mentire per la strozza'' in the same sense.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010) The past participle ''mentito'' “false” is in Petrarch (1375), and ''mentitore'' “liar” in Dante (1304–1308).^(DELI 1999)

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+ Benedetto Varchi in the 16th century distinguished telling a ''bugia'', saying something false, from ''mentire'', the Latin word, saying what one knows to be false.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The transitive senses “to feign” and “to give the lie to” are now rare or old; the second passed to the derivative ''smentire'', with ''smentita'' “denial” recorded in 1873.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses ''mentire''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses ''mentitore'' “liar”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1312 – ''Mentire per la gola'' is recorded in Venetian.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1375 – Petrarch uses ''mentito'' “false”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – ''Smentire'' “to deny, give the lie to” appears.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1873 – ''Smentita'' “denial” is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|lie]], say deliberately what is false: ''Non mentirmi, so che eri lì.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Mentire a sé stessi'': to deceive oneself, believe what one knows is untrue.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # Of things, to be [[m|en|deceptive]] or untrue: ''Il suo sorriso mentiva.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(uncommon)'' To fail, disappoint: to fall short of a promise or hope.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(transitive, uncommon)'' To [[m|en|feign]] or falsify: to feign tears.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(transitive, archaic)'' To deny, give the lie to.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mentito]]

+ * [[mentitore]]

+ * [[smentire]]

+ * [[smentita]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mente]]

+ * [[menzogna]]

+ * [[bugia]]

+ * [[la|mentior]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The present has ''mènto'' (or ''ménto'') and, less commonly or in literary use, ''mentisco''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary) Fixed phrases are ''mentire per la gola'' (to lie through one's teeth) and ''mentire sapendo di mentire'' (to lie knowingly).^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010) The proverb ''buon sangue non mente'' says that inherited traits will show.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}