confuso Italian · revision 38773

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=first half of the 13th century, Giacomino Pugliese|origins=ine-pro *ǵʰew-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /konˈfu.zo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''confuso''' (feminine confusa, masculine plural confusi, feminine plural confuse)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|cōnfūsus|t=mingled; disordered; dismayed]], the past participle of [[m|la|cōnfundō|t=to pour together, to mix, to confuse]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|1059)^(Wiktionary) DELI, DEI and the LEI call it learned, and it serves as the past participle of the inherited verb [[confondere]].^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|1059)^(LEI|17, 66)^(GRADIT 2003) The same learned word is [[fr|confus]] (from about 1120), [[ca|confús]], [[es|confuso]] and [[pt|confuso]].^(LEI|17, 66)

+

+ The Latin verb is formed from [[m|la|con-|t=together]] and [[m|la|fundō|t=to pour]], from [[ine-pro|*ǵʰew-|t=to pour]] with a nasal present; its cognates include [[grc|χέω|tr=khéō|t=to pour]] and [[got|𐌲𐌹𐌿𐍄𐌰𐌽|tr=giutan|t=to pour]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the poems of Giacomino Pugliese, of the first half of the 13th century, in a Tuscan copy;^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999) DELI gives the sense “troubled, dismayed, mortified” there.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “in disorder, chaotic” is in Dante (before 1321), where the LEI also finds it for thought and speech that lack order.^(DELI 1999)^(LEI|17, 66) Old Italian also used the adjective for “ruined”, “defeated” and “deceived, frustrated”, following the senses of Latin ''confundere''.^(TLIO)^(LEI|17, 66)

+

+ ''Confusione'' is recorded in Dante (1304–1308) for a disorderly mixture and in Jacopone da Todi for agitation of the mind.^(DELI 1999) ''Confusionario'', someone who makes a muddle, came into the national language in 1908 from the dialects of the north-east, where it is recorded much earlier (Venetian 1829).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * First half of the 13th century – Giacomino Pugliese uses ''confuso''.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it for “in disorder”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses ''confusione''.^(DELI 1999)

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

+ * 1908 – ''Confusionario'' appears in Panzini's dictionary.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Jumbled, in [[m|en|disorder]]: ''un mucchio confuso di vestiti''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Mixed in among others, hard to pick out: ''Si era confuso tra i turisti.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Unclear, [[m|en|muddled]]: ''Mi ha dato una spiegazione molto confusa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Indistinct, vague: ''un rumore confuso'', ''un'immagine confusa''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|confused]], bewildered, embarrassed: ''Dopo la notizia rimase confuso.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[confusione]]

+ * [[confusionario]]

+ * [[confusamente]]

+ * [[confusionale]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[confondere]]

+ * [[fondere]]

+ * [[la|confusus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Confuso'' is also the past participle of [[confondere]] and ''confondersi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}