Meaning & use
Alighieri
Last updated
Meaning
proper nounproper
The family name of Dante, the Italian poet of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries who wrote the Divine Comedy.
Grammar: Capitalized and used almost only in the full name Dante Alighieri; the poet is usually just called Dante.
Patterns
- Dante Alighieri
- the poet Alighieri
Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in 1265.
Students read Alighieri's long poem in translation.
The statue honors Alighieri in the city's main square.
Common combinations
- Dante Alighieri
- Dante Alighieri is often called the father of the Italian language.
- Alighieri's poem
- Alighieri's poem describes a journey through three worlds.
- the Divine Comedy by Alighieri
- She studied the Divine Comedy by Alighieri at university.
- Alighieri family
- The Alighieri family belonged to the city's minor nobility.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Dante
- Dante is the normal way to refer to the poet in English, while Alighieri sounds like a formal full name.
Word family
- Dante proper noun
- the poet's usual given name
- Dantean adjective
- relating to Dante or his work
- Dantesque adjective
- like Dante's poems, especially in grim grandeur
Commonly confused: Alighieri or Dante? Alighieri or Aligheri?
Alighieri vs Dante
Dante is the poet's first name, not a different person; Alighieri is his family name.
Alighieri vs Aligheri
Aligheri is a common misspelling; the correct spelling is Alighieri, with an i after the gh.
Practice
Who wrote the Divine Comedy?
Choose one answer.
Dante Alighieri wrote the Divine Comedy. Petrarch, Boccaccio and Machiavelli were other famous Italian writers, but not its author.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Alighieri”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.