ispettore Italian · revision 38771

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1731–1735, Pietro Giannone|origins=ine-pro *speḱ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /is.petˈto.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ispettore''' ''m'' (plural ispettori, feminine ispettrice)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|īnspector|t=examiner, observer]], recorded in Seneca, the agent noun of [[m|la|īnspiciō|t=to look into, to examine]], from [[m|la|in-|t=in, into]] and [[m|la|speciō|t=to look]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|2118)^(GDLI) DEI calls it a learned word of the language of administration, and GRADIT, DEI and GDLI compare [[fr|inspecteur]], recorded from 1403 or 1488.^(DEI|2118)^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI) The older and literary form is [[inspettore]].^(GDLI)

+

+ [[m|la|speciō]] continues [[ine-pro|*speḱ-|t=to look]], the root also of [[sa|पश्यति|tr=páśyati|t=sees]] and [[goh|spehōn|t=to spy]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI, Nocentini and GRADIT date the word to Pietro Giannone (1731–1735), for someone who watches over the state and running of something.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) DEI dates it to the 14th century, and GDLI quotes an Old Italian translation of Saint Augustine that calls God the “everlasting inspector” of every thought.^(DEI|2118)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 19th century the word took on its modern administrative sense, an official who checks the work of a public office or company, with ''ispettorato'', the office and its staff (Venetian 1829, Tommaseo 1869).^(DELI 1999) The verb ''ispezionare'' (1798) was attacked by the purists of the 19th century as bureaucratic jargon.^(DELI 1999) Ranks and functions have their own names: the ''ispettore scolastico'', the ''ispettore di polizia'', above the ''sovrintendente'', and in cinema the ''ispettore di produzione''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) GDLI records a regional feminine ''ispettora'' beside ''ispettrice''.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 14th century – DEI dates ''ispettore''.^(DEI|2118)

+ * 1731–1735 – Pietro Giannone uses ''ispettore''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1798 – ''Ispezionare'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1829 – Venetian ''ispetorato'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|inspector]], an official who supervises and checks the work of a state office, an organisation or a firm: ''L'ispettore del lavoro ha visitato il cantiere.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A police inspector: ''ispettore di polizia''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(cinema)'' ''ispettore di produzione'', the person who checks the budget and schedule of a film for the producer.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ispettorato]]

+ * [[sottoispettore]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ispezione]]

+ * [[ispezionare]]

+ * [[ispettivo]]

+ * [[la|inspector]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}