eliminare Italian · revision 38828

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1710, Scipione Maffei|origins=la līmen}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /e.li.miˈna.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''eliminare''' (first-person singular present elìmino, first-person singular past historic eliminài, past participle eliminàto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ DELI, Nocentini and Sabatini–Coletti take it as [[bor|fr|éliminer]], recorded in French in 1495, a learned word that goes back to [[la|ēlīminō|alt=ēlīmināre|t=to turn out of doors]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DEI and GRADIT derive it directly from Latin, and compare French [[m|fr|éliminer]] (14th century).^(DEI|1446)^(GRADIT 2003) The GDLI notes that the French word was rare until the 18th century, and Tommaseo complained that the French overused it.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ The Latin verb is formed from [[m|la|līmen|t=threshold]] with the prefix [[m|la|ex-|alt=ē-|t=out of]], literally “to put out over the threshold”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto 1968) De Vaan derives [[m|la|līmen]], the crossbeam of a doorway, from the adjective [[m|la|līmus|t=transverse, oblique]], as [[m|la|līmes|t=boundary]] is too.^(de Vaan 2008)

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+ The derivatives [[eliminatorio]], [[eliminatoria]] and [[eliminazione]] also follow French [[m|fr|éliminatoire]] (1875) and [[m|fr|élimination]] (1765).^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI and GRADIT date the first record to Scipione Maffei (1710–1716), in the sense “to remove, put aside”; the GDLI quotes him eliminating matters from discussion.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI) Zingarelli gives an earlier date, 1499.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In algebra the verb came to mean removing an unknown from a system of equations, a use Tommaseo quoted from Maria Gaetana Agnesi.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Zingarelli 2010) The euphemistic sense “to kill” is dated before 1886, in Vittorio Imbriani.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

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+ In sport, ''eliminatoria'', a qualifying heat whose best competitors go on to the final, is recorded in 1908, and the verb now means to knock a team or competitor out of a competition.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Modern dictionaries add expelling substances from the body (''eliminare le tossine'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1495 – French ''éliminer'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1499 – Zingarelli's date for the Italian word.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ * 1710 – Scipione Maffei uses ''eliminare''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1835 – ''Eliminazione'' is recorded in Romagnosi.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1886 – Imbriani uses it for “to kill”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1908 – ''Eliminatoria'' and ''eliminatorio'' are recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|remove]], get rid of, make disappear: ''Ho eliminato tutti i file inutili.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To exclude, rule out: to discard a hypothesis.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # To [[m|en|expel]] a substance from the body.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(sports)'' To knock out a competitor or team from a competition.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(euphemistic)'' To [[m|en|kill]], do away with someone.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' To remove a variable or parameter from a system of equations.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[eliminatoria]]

+ * [[eliminatorio]]

+ * [[eliminazione]]

+ * [[eliminabile]]

+ * [[eliminato]]

+ * [[eliminatore]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[limine]]

+ * [[limite]]

+ * [[la|limen]]

+ * [[fr|éliminer]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}