insegnante Italian · revision 38745

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1419, Giovanni Dominici|origins=la signum}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /in.seɲˈɲan.te/^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Forms==

+ '''insegnante''' ''m or f'' by sense (plural insegnanti)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the present participle of [[insegnare|t=to teach]], used as an adjective and a noun: [[af|it|insegnare|-ante]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003) The verb comes from [[la-lat|īnsignō|alt=īnsignāre|t=to imprint signs, mark]], recorded in glosses, from [[m|la|signō|t=to mark]], derived from [[m|la|signum|t=sign]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Migliorini, quoted by DELI, suggested that “insegnare”, like [[apprendere]] and [[imparare]], was born in student slang, from “to engrave, to drive into the head”.^(DELI 1999) The verb is pan-Romance: [[fr|enseigner]], [[oc|ensenhar]], [[ca|ensenyar]], [[es|enseñar]], [[pt|ensinar]], and [[ro|însemna|t=to mean]].^(Nocentini 2010)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Giovanni Dominici (before 1419), as a participle and adjective, “teaching”.^(DELI 1999) Dominici describes certain books as “più insegnanti d'amare secondo carne che mostratori di buon costumi” (“teaching more how to love according to the flesh than showing good conduct”).^(GDLI|8, 93)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ For a long time the word was mainly a participle and adjective;^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(GDLI|8, 93) Tommaseo records ''ordini religiosi insegnanti'', the teaching orders, and ''Chiesa insegnante'', the Church in its teaching authority.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(GDLI|8, 93) The noun ''insegnante'', a person qualified to teach a subject, is dated by DELI to Tommaseo's dictionary in 1869.^(DELI 1999) The adjective lives on in ''corpo insegnante'', the teaching staff of a school, used by Carlo Cattaneo in the 19th century.^(GDLI|8, 93)^(Zingarelli 2010)

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+ In modern use ''insegnante'' is the general professional term, beside ''docente'', ''maestro'' for primary school and ''professore'' for secondary school; the ''insegnante di sostegno'' supports pupils with disabilities in the classroom.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1419 – Giovanni Dominici uses ''insegnante'' as an adjective.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1869 – Tommaseo's dictionary records the noun “teacher”.^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Teaching, whose task is to teach.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

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+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|teacher]], someone who teaches, especially by profession: ''Mia sorella fa l'insegnante di matematica.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[insegnare]]

+ * [[insegnamento]]

+ * [[segno]]

+ * [[docente]]

+ * [[la|signum]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Insegnante'' is masculine or feminine according to the person.^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) ''Corpo insegnante'' is the teaching staff of a school, and ''insegnante di sostegno'' a teacher who supports pupils with disabilities.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}