particolare Italian · revision 38502

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1305–1306, Giordano da Pisa|origins=la pars}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /par.ti.koˈla.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''particolare''' ''m or f'' by sense (plural particolari, superlative particolarissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+ The older form is [[roa-oit|particulare]].^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GDLI)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la-lat|particulāris|t=relating to a part]], from [[la|particula|t=small part, particle]], the diminutive of [[m|la|pars|t=part]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin adjective, used by Apuleius, was opposed to [[m|la|universālis|t=universal]], and Boethius has the noun [[m|la|particulāritās]].^(DEI|2785) The same word is [[fr|particulier]], recorded in the 14th century, and [[es|particular]].^(DEI|2785)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ [[particolarismo|alt=Particolarismo]] is probably taken from [[fr|particularisme]], a theological term in 1689 and a general one from 1790.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Giordano da Pisa's Lenten sermons of 1305–1306, as ''particulare'', both as an adjective “relating to a single part, belonging to one thing or person” and as a noun “what concerns a single part”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Philosophy opposed ''particolare'' to ''universale'': Dante writes in the ''Convivio'' that particular nature obeys universal nature when it gives a man thirty-two teeth.^(GDLI) According to Alberto Quaglio, quoted by DELI, the opposition of ''particulare'' “private” to “general” arose in the 16th century, but a milder contrast with “common” is already in Boccaccio's ''Filocolo'', where a bishop sets a ''particulare uomo'', a private man, against the son of a king.^(DELI 1999) ''Particolarità'' is recorded in Boccaccio (1340–1342), and the noun “detail, element of a whole” in Girolamo Benivieni (before 1542); Galileo used ''particolari'' for the precautions taken against error in experiments and calculations.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2785)

+

+ ''Particolareggiare'' “to give in detail” is recorded before 1571, and ''particolarismo'' is dated 1712 by Nocentini and 1847 (Gioberti) by DELI.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) ''Amicizie particolari'', a euphemism for homosexual relationships, renders the title of Roger Peyrefitte's novel ''Les amitiés particulières'' (1944).^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1305–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses ''particulare'' as adjective and noun.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1340–1342 – Boccaccio uses ''particolarità''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1542 – Girolamo Benivieni uses the noun for an element of a whole.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1571 – Lodovico Castelvetro has ''particolareggiare''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1712 – ''Particolarismo'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1944 – Peyrefitte's ''Les amitiés particulières'' gives the model for ''amicizie particolari''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Relating to a part rather than the whole; specific: ''un aspetto particolare del problema''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Having its own distinctive features, [[m|en|special]]: ''Il tuo è un problema un po' particolare.'', ''in particolare'', especially.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Marked, more than usual: ''Ha mostrato una particolare attenzione per i dettagli.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Out of the ordinary, unusual, odd: ''Ha un modo di vestire molto particolare.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Belonging to one person or group, not to all; [[m|en|peculiar]], characteristic: ''segni particolari'', distinguishing marks.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # [[m|en|private]], personal: ''la segretaria particolare del presidente''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(euphemistic)'' Of a friendship, homosexual: ''amicizie particolari''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The particular, as opposed to the general.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # A [[m|en|detail]]: ''Mi ha raccontato tutto nei minimi particolari.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A detail of a work of art reproduced or studied on its own.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(dated)'' A private citizen without public office.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[particolarità]]

+ * [[particolarmente]]

+ * [[particolareggiare]]

+ * [[particolarismo]]

+ * [[particolarista]]

+ * [[particolaristico]]

+ * [[particolarizzare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[parte]]

+ * [[particella]]

+ * [[particola]]

+ * [[la|particularis]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}