opinione Italian · revision 38886

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1250|origins=la opīnor}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /o.piˈnjo.ne/^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Forms==

+ '''opinione''' ''f'' (plural opinioni)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|opīniō|t=supposition, belief, opinion]], the action noun of [[m|la|opīnor|t=to think, to suppose]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) DEI notes that the philosophical term passed into the European languages in the Middle Ages: [[fr|opinion]] (12th century) and [[en|opinion]] (13th century); it was translated by [[goh|meinunga]].^(DEI|2663)^(Nocentini 2010) Körting lists it as learned in all the Romance languages.^(Körting 1907) Old forms such as [[roa-oit|oppinione]] and [[roa-oit|oppenione]] have a doubled /p/ after the secondary stress.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

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+ The origin of the Latin verb is unclear.^(de Vaan 2008) Its link with [[m|la|optō|t=to choose, to wish]] is traditional but weak in meaning, and an early Praenestine spelling with ⟨ei⟩ points to an old diphthong that makes a PIE etymology harder to find.^(de Vaan 2008)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in a poem of the Sicilian school (before 1250) by Pier della Vigna, Iacopo Mostacci or Giacomo da Lentini, in the sense “idea, subjective conviction”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) In Old Italian the word was sometimes masculine.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2663)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Brunetto Latini already writes ''è oppinione di Tullio che…'' for “Cicero thinks that…” (before 1294).^(DELI 1999) The sense “esteem, reputation” is in Dante (1304–1308), and ''avere grande opinione di sé'', to think highly of oneself, in Giordano da Pisa (1302–1305).^(DELI 1999) The word reached the dialects: Venetian ''punion'' means “stubbornness” and ''punioso'' “stubborn”.^(REW 1935)^(DEI|2663)

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+ ''Pubblica opinione'' appears in Beccaria (1764) and ''opinione pubblica'' in Pietro Verri (1768) and Filangieri (before 1788); the GDLI compares [[fr|opinion publique]].^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|11) ''Opinionista'', a commentator who writes opinion pieces, dates from 1983.^(Nocentini 2010)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1250 – ''Opinione'' appears in the Sicilian school.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''è oppinione di…''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for “esteem”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1764 – Beccaria writes ''pubblica opinione''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1768 – Pietro Verri writes ''opinione pubblica''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1983 – ''Opinionista'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

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+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|opinion]], a personal view or judgement: ''Ognuno ha diritto alla sua opinione.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''Essere dell'opinione che'': to think, to hold that.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # The prevailing view: ''opinione corrente'', ''opinione pubblica'', the shared view of most citizens, and the public itself.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A conviction, especially political: ''reato d'opinione''.^(Treccani 2011)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # [[m|en|esteem]], regard: ''Ho un'ottima opinione di lei.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

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+ ==Word family==

+ * [[opinionista]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[opinare]]

+ * [[opinabile]]

+ * [[la|opīniō]]

+ * [[fr|opinion]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''La matematica non è un'opinione'' is said of something objectively certain.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}