romantico Italian · revision 39054

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1814, Lo Spettatore|origins=fro romant}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /roˈman.ti.ko/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''romantico''' (feminine romantica, masculine plural romantici, feminine plural romantiche, superlative romanticissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|en|romantic]], probably through [[fr|romantique]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) The English adjective is first recorded around 1650–1659 in the sense “improbable, like a story”, then “moving, picturesque”; it was formed on the Old French noun [[m|fro|romant]], the oblique form of [[m|fro|romanz]] “romance, story in the vernacular” (see [[romanzo]]).^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Treccani 2011) Nocentini traces the noun further back to the sense “in the manner of the Romans”.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ DELI points out that the French noun [[m|fr|romantisme]] and [[de|Romantik]] were both current at the start of the 19th century and explains the success of the whole Italian family by their joint influence.^(DELI 1999) Nocentini and DEI describe the route: in German [[m|de|romantisch]] was applied by Wieland and Herder to medieval chivalric poetry and then opposed to [[m|de|klassisch|t=classical]];^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3278) Madame de Staël spread the French form in that sense with ''De l'Allemagne'' (1810), and the Italian word came into use with the debate it started.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3278) The French adjective had existed since 1694 in the sense “picturesque”, itself an Anglicism.^(DEI|3278) Prati derives the Italian word directly from French.^(Prati 1951|849)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is from 1814, in the Milanese periodical ''Lo Spettatore'', for a place or scene that stirs vague, melancholy feelings;^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Nocentini also dates the word to 1814.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The literary sense, “belonging to Romanticism”, follows in 1818, when Giovanni Berchet calls ''classico'' and ''romantico'' the two adjectives most often heard in Milan.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word was at the centre of the quarrel between Classicists and Romantics that followed Madame de Staël's article of 1816.^(DEI|3278) Ludovico di Breme uses ''romantico'' as a noun for a follower of the new school in 1816, and Monti, who wrote against the Romantics, uses both noun and adjective before 1828.^(DELI 1999) Tommaseo still gives the old descriptive sense: a ''luogo romantico'' is a place of singular charm, such as novels describe, and a ''passeggiata romantica'' an outing out of the ordinary.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ From the literary movement the word passed to temperament: Carducci (before 1907) calls a person given to fantasy and sentiment ''un romantico''.^(DELI 1999) Today the everyday sense is “sentimental, dreamy, inclined to love and melancholy”, and of places and situations “suited to romance”, as in a candlelit dinner.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The derivatives followed the same path: ''romanticismo'' (1818) for the movement and later (1857–1858, Nievo) for excessive sentimentality, ''romanticheria'' and the scornful ''romanticume''.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * About 1650 – English ''romantick'' is recorded in the sense “improbable”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1694 – French ''romantique'' “picturesque” is recorded.^(DEI|3278)

+ * 1810 – Madame de Staël's ''De l'Allemagne'' spreads ''romantique'' in the literary sense.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1814 – ''Lo Spettatore'' uses ''romantico'' for scenes that inspire melancholy.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1816 – Ludovico di Breme uses it as a noun for a follower of Romanticism.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1818 – Berchet names ''classico'' and ''romantico'' the two fashionable adjectives of Milan, ''romanticismo'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Before 1907 – Carducci uses ''romantico'' for a sentimental, fanciful person.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or belonging to [[romanticismo|alt=Romanticism]], the European cultural movement of the late 18th and early 19th century: ''la pittura romantica tedesca''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # [[m|en|romantic]], [[sentimentale|alt=sentimental]]: inclined to dreams, passion and melancholy, especially in love: ''Mio fratello è più romantico di quanto sembri.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Of a place, atmosphere or situation: that inspires tender, dreamy or loving feelings: ''Abbiamo trovato un ristorantino romantico sul lago.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A follower or representative of Romanticism.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A sentimental, dreamy person: ''Sotto sotto sei un romantico.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[romanticismo]]

+ * [[romanticheria]]

+ * [[romanticume]]

+ * [[romanticamente]]

+ * [[romanticità]]

+ * [[romanticizzare]]

+ * [[preromantico]]

+ * [[postromantico]]

+ * [[antiromantico]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[romanzo]]

+ * [[romanzesco]]

+ * [[romanza]]

+ * [[en|romantic]]

+ * [[fr|romantique]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Un inguaribile romantico'', “an incurable romantic”, is a common phrase for a hopelessly sentimental person.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}