impegno Italian · revision 39182

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1640, Oudin|origins=la pignus}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /imˈpeɲ.ɲo/^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Forms==

+ '''impegno''' ''m'' (plural impegni)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a noun formed from the verb [[impegnare|t=to pledge, to commit]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The verb is formed from [[pegno|t=pledge]] with the prefix [[in-]] in the sense “into”,^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) and the noun goes back to [[la|pignus|t=pledge]].^(Wikizionario) DEI compares [[es|empeño]] and [[pt|empenho]].^(DEI|1957)^(GDLI)

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+ Several senses of the verb and the noun copy [[fr|engager]] and [[m|fr|engagement]], and purists rejected them for that reason;^(DELI 1999) Zaccaria alone derived them from Spanish.^(DELI 1999) Rigutini answered that the noun in the sense of “care, zeal”, which the French word does not have, had been in use since the 17th century.^(DELI 1999) The sense of the intellectual's political commitment is a calque on the French noun.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Oudin's dictionary of 1640, with the sense “obligation, promise”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) In the 17th century Gualdo Priorato and Brusoni use it for a commitment between persons or states.^(GDLI)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In 1680 Brusoni uses ''impegno'' for a task or a burden, and in 1686 Segneri for the diligent use of one's strength in doing something.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) In 1798 D'Alberti noted that current usage gave it an even wider sense of resolve, firmness and determination.^(DELI 1999) Gasparo Gozzi writes of being ''pieno d'impegni'', full of engagements and also of debts,^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) and the financial sense of a monetary obligation is dated before 1872 in Mazzini.^(DELI 1999)

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+ After the Second World War the word took on the sense of an intellectual's or artist's active involvement in the social and political problems of the time, recorded in 1950; in 1966 Eugenio Montale wrote of ''l'impegno o l'engagement dell'artista''.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010) In obstetrics the word names the stage of labour in which the fetus descends into the birth canal.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1640 – Oudin records ''impegno'' “obligation, promise”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1680 – Brusoni uses it for a task.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1686 – Segneri uses it for diligent effort.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1798 – D'Alberti notes its wider sense of resolve and firmness.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1872 – Mazzini uses it for a financial obligation.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1950 – The sense of political and social commitment of an intellectual is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|obligation]] or [[m|en|promise]] undertaken towards others or oneself: ''Non è venuto meno ai suoi impegni.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(finance)'' A monetary obligation; in the plural, the debts and liabilities of a firm.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # An engagement, something one has to do; an appointment: ''Stasera non posso, ho un impegno.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # [[m|en|commitment]], diligence: the effort and care put into a task: ''Si prepara all'esame con grande impegno.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The active involvement of an intellectual or artist in the political and social questions of the time.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(medicine)'' The stage of labour in which the fetus descends into the birth canal.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

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+ ==Word family==

+ * [[semimpegno]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[impegnare]]

+ * [[impegnativo]]

+ * [[impegnato]]

+ * [[pegno]]

+ * [[fr|engagement]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Senza impegno'' means “without obligation”, and ''mettersi d'impegno'' “to apply oneself seriously”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}