Dante Alighieri

1 6.1

An Italian poet who wrote the long poem the Divine Comedy about a journey through the afterlife

proper noun
/ˈdɑːnteɪ əˌlɪɡˈhɪəri/

: Dante Alighieri

The famous Italian poet Dante Alighieri wrote the Divine Comedy.

Examples

Many scholars consider Dante Alighieri the father of the Italian language.
Many scholars consider Dante Alighieri the father of the Italian language.
Dante Alighieri is best known for his masterpiece, the Divine Comedy.
Tourists in Florence often visit the house where Dante Alighieri was born.
Did Dante Alighieri really write about Hell in his works?
Dante Alighieri is best known for his masterpiece, the Divine Comedy.
Tourists in Florence often visit the house where Dante Alighieri was born.

Synonyms

Dante

vsDante Alighieri

25 7.2

An Italian poet from the Middle Ages who wrote the Divine Comedy

is the full formal name rather than the shortened familiar form

Surface Forms

Dante Alighieri main

Morphology

Dante + Alighieri

This is a personal name composed of two proper nouns; the identity and biographical information (an Italian poet who wrote the Divine Comedy) are not derivable from the constituent words. Proper names are arbitrary labels rather than compositional phrases, so a B1 learner who only knows the parts would not infer the referent or meaning.

Etymology

Dante Alighieri wrote the long poem 'Divine Comedy', which tells a vivid journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Because of that strong story, people remember him as one of Italy's greatest writers and the 'father' of the Italian language.