desiderare Italian · revision 38708

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=last quarter of the 12th century, Proverbia que dicuntur|origins=la sīdus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /de.zi.deˈra.re/, /de.si.deˈra.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''desiderare''' (first-person singular present desìdero, first-person singular past historic desiderài, past participle desideràto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+ The older form is [[roa-oit|disiderare]], used by Dante; the old northern forms include [[roa-oit|desidrare]], [[roa-oit|desedrar]] and [[roa-oit|desirar]].^(TLIO)^(LEI|19, 1431)^(DEI|1260)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|dēsīderō|t=to long for; to miss, feel the lack of]], a learned word.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|19, 1431)^(Wiktionary) The verb belongs with [[m|la|sīdus|t=star, constellation]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(de Vaan 2008) DELI, GRADIT, Devoto–Oli and GDLI give the traditional explanation from augury: the verb first meant to stop watching the stars, or to note that the stars needed for the auspices were missing, and so came to mean “to feel the lack of, long for”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GDLI) Nocentini and Devoto see it as formed after [[m|la|cōnsīderō|t=to examine]], with the prefix [[m|la|dē-]] in place of [[m|la|con-]]: “to stop seeing”, then “to notice an absence”, “to miss”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968) De Vaan reports a newer view, from hunters' language: the noun for “star” would first have meant “mark, target”, the compound with con- “to aim”, and the one with dē- “to miss the mark”.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ The Latin verb lives on as [[ro|deșidera]], [[fro|desirer]] (about 1050) and [[pro|dezirar]], but not in Spanish, Portuguese or southern Italian, where the forms are learned.^(LEI|19, 1431)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|1260) The variant [[desirare]] and the noun [[roa-oit|desire|t=desire]] are borrowings from Old Occitan.^(LEI|19, 1431)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the Venetian ''Proverbia que dicuntur'' of the last quarter of the 12th century, for wishing for something and striving to obtain it.^(TLIO) DELI dates the word to Guido Faba, before 1243, and the LEI has Bolognese ''desidrare'' in Faba's ''Formule'' of 1248.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(LEI|19, 1431)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Old Italian senses already include longing for a person or being in love, aspiring to possessions, and, of a plant, needing certain conditions to thrive.^(TLIO) The LEI groups the Latin and Italian uses into “to long for”, “to require, need” and “to miss, find lacking”.^(LEI|19, 1431)

+

+ Derivatives followed early: ''desiderio'' (before 1294, Guittone), ''desideroso'' (13th century) and ''desiderabile'' (1304–1308, Dante).^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) ''Desiderata'' “things wished for” was taken in 1843 from French or English, and ''pio desiderio'' “wishful thinking” is recorded in 1869.^(DELI 1999) In modern Italian ''desiderare'' is also a polite word for wanting in shops and offices, and ''lasciare a desiderare'' means to fall short of expectations.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Last quarter of the 12th century – The Venetian ''Proverbia que dicuntur'' have the first record.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1243 – Guido Faba uses the verb.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1248 – Bolognese ''desidrare'' appears in Faba's ''Formule''.^(LEI|19, 1431)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo has ''desiderio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante has ''desiderabile''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1843 – ''Desiderata'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|wish]] for, [[m|en|desire]] strongly: ''Desideravo da anni una casa in campagna.'' With ''che'' and the subjunctive or with the infinitive (also with ''di'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To desire a person sexually.^(GRADIT 2003)^(TLIO)

+ # To express a wish or order politely: ''Desidero che la riunione cominci in orario.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # To feel the need of, [[m|en|miss]]: ''Dopo tanto rumore desideravo un po' di silenzio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # In polite formulas, to want, to ask for: ''Che cosa desiderano i signori da bere?'' To ask for someone: ''La desiderano alla reception.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''Lasciare a desiderare'': to leave something to be desired.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) ''Farsi desiderare'': to keep people waiting, to be rarely seen.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[desiderio]]

+ * [[desiderabile]]

+ * [[desideroso]]

+ * [[desiderata]]

+ * [[desiderativo]]

+ * [[indesiderabile]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[considerare]]

+ * [[desirare]]

+ * [[la|dēsīderō]]

+ * [[la|sīdus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}