commesso Italian · revision 38780

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1510, Luca Pacioli|origins=la mittō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /komˈmes.so/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''commesso''' ''m'' (plural commessi, feminine commessa)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the past participle of [[commettere]] used as a noun: the employee is one to whom a task is entrusted, and the inlay is made of pieces put together.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(GDLI) The participle continues [[la|commissus]], from [[m|la|committō|t=to bring together; to entrust]], a compound of [[m|la|com-|t=with]] and [[m|la|mittō|t=to send]].^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary) Devoto–Oli explains the sense “employee” through a Medieval Latin use of the participle for an agent or deputy.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

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+ The phrase [[commesso viaggiatore]] “travelling salesman” is, according to DELI, a calque of [[fr|commis voyageur]] (1792); English “travelling salesman” may have helped it, but DELI finds the claim that it is an anglicism unproven.^(DELI 1999)^(Treccani 2011)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The participle is recorded as an adjective meaning “entrusted” in Giordano da Pisa (1305–1306).^(DELI 1999) The noun “employee of a shop” is first found in Luca Pacioli before 1510, and the sense “clerk, subordinate employee” in Vincenzo Cuoco in 1801.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010) Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the noun to 1875.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ DEI records the noun in the 15th century for a commercial agent, and earlier, in the 14th century, for a person who had given his goods to a religious house.^(DEI|1031) Tommaseo explains this old ''commesso'' as one who paid a sum to be kept and live with others, ''com'un commesso allo spedale'', “like a lay brother at the hospital”, and also records the sense “substitute, deputy”.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

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+ The art sense, a work of hard stones fixed with mastic on a marble slab, dates from the 16th century;^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Tommaseo says the art was begun in Florence and was also called Florentine mosaic.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) In the 19th and 20th centuries the noun spread through offices: a ''commesso'' of a bank, of Parliament, of a court, and in the navy the petty officer in charge of provisions.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) The feminine ''commessa'' also means an order for goods, recorded in 1942.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1305–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses ''commesso'' for “entrusted”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – The noun is used for a donor to a religious house.^(DEI|1031)

+ * Before 1510 – Luca Pacioli uses it for a shop employee.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 16th century – The sense “inlay of hard stones” is recorded.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ * 1792 – French ''commis voyageur'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1801 – Vincenzo Cuoco uses it for a clerk.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1942 – ''Commessa'' “order for goods” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|shop assistant]], salesperson (feminine ''commessa''): ''Ho chiesto alla commessa se avevano la giacca in una taglia più grande.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A subordinate employee of a public body or a firm, often in a position of trust: an usher, a [[m|en|messenger]]: ''un commesso di banca'', ''i commessi del Senato''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(law)'' An assistant to a court bailiff.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(nautical)'' On a warship, the petty officer in charge of provisions.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(art)'' An [[m|en|inlay]] of hard stones fixed with mastic on a marble slab; inlaid work.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A decoration made by joining fabrics of different colours.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[commettere]]

+ * [[commessa]]

+ * [[commessura]]

+ * [[commissione]]

+ * [[la|committo]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Commesso viaggiatore'', a travelling salesman, is now dated.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) ''Commesso'' is also the past participle of ''commettere'', as in ''un errore commesso per distrazione''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}