sorridere Italian · revision 38948

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=mid-13th century, Stefano Protonotaro|origins=la rīdeō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /sorˈri.de.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sorridere''' (first-person singular present sorrìdo, first-person singular past historic sorrìsi, past participle sorrìso, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*subrīdō|alt=*subrīdĕre]], the classical [[la|subrīdeō|t=to smile]] moved from the second conjugation to the third, as [[ridere]] was.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin verb is formed from [[m|la|sub-|t=under; slightly]] and [[m|la|rīdeō|t=to laugh]], the prefix having the sense “a little”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DEI and Nocentini start from an assimilated form [[m|la-vul|*surrīdō|alt=*surrīdĕre]],^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3560)^(REW 1935) and Prati thought the word may have come into Italian through the written language.^(Prati 1951|931)

+

+ The same verb is [[rm|sorrir]], [[es|sonreír]] and [[pt|sorrir]];^(REW 1935)^(DEI|3560)^(Nocentini 2010) [[fro|souzrire]] and modern [[fr|sourire]] were formed with a different prefix.^(REW 1935)^(DEI|3560) De Vaan finds no good Indo-European source for the Latin verb, and rejects the old comparison with [[sa|व्रीडते|tr=vrīḍate|t=is ashamed]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The sense “to appeal to, to please” copies [[fr|sourire]], which had it from 1798.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|3560) Tommaseo still objected in 1874 that writers were translating the French phrase [[m|fr|cela me sourit|t=that appeals to me]] too literally.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in the Sicilian poet Stefano Protonotaro, in the middle of the 13th century, in the sense “to laugh lightly, with a slight movement of the mouth and eyes”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) His lady, he says, raised her eyes and smiled and so put him to death, like the basilisk (“isò gli occhi e sorrise, / sì c'à morte mi mise”).^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word belonged to love poetry from the start: in the ''Vita nuova'' Dante says that how his lady looks when she smiles a little cannot be spoken or held in the mind (“Quel ch'ella par quando un poco sorride, / non si pò dicer né tenere a mente”).^(GDLI) Francesco da Buti, commenting on Dante, explained that smiling is laughing in moderation and so belongs to the wise.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The noun [[sorriso]] is recorded before 1321, in Dante, and the participle ''sorridente'' before 1406.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Figurative uses came later: fortune or life “smiles” on someone in Vincenzo Monti (before 1828), and the sun smiles on the hills in Leopardi.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The sense “to appeal to someone” is first recorded before 1836.^(DELI 1999) In literary Italian the verb can also be transitive, “to say with a smile”, as in Pascoli.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Mid-13th century – Stefano Protonotaro uses ''sorrise'' “smiled”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses the noun ''sorriso''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1828 – Vincenzo Monti uses the verb for things that look favourable.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1836 – The sense “to please, to appeal to” is recorded, after French ''sourire''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1874 – Tommaseo criticises the French-style sense “to appeal to”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|smile]]: to laugh lightly, with the lips only, to show pleasure, kindness, agreement or irony: ''Quando l'ha vista entrare ha sorriso.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To look favourable, to [[m|en|favour]] someone (of luck, life and similar): ''La sorte non gli ha mai sorriso.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To appeal to, to [[m|en|please]], often in the negative: ''Lavorare la domenica non mi sorride.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative, literary)'' To shine brightly and cheerfully (of the sun, a landscape).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(literary, transitive)'' To say with a smile.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(reciprocal, as sorridersi)'' To exchange smiles.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sorriso]]

+ * [[sorridente]]

+ * [[risorridere]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[arridere]]

+ * [[ridere]]

+ * [[la|subrideo]]

+ * [[fr|sourire]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}