caminare

Caminare is a nonstandard or variant spelling that may appear in informal writing as a substitute for the Italian verb camminare, which means to walk. In standard Italian, caminare is not recognized as the correct infinitive form, and camminare is the form used in all conjugations and official references.

Etymology and orthography: The form caminare likely results from orthographic simplification of the geminated consonant mm or from influence by nonstandard spellings. Italian orthography preserves doubled consonants to reflect pronunciation, and camminare correctly retains the double m. Some regional or historical texts may show alternative spellings, but such forms are not part of modern standard Italian.

Usage: In contemporary Italian writing and teaching, caminare is treated as an erroneous form. The correct usage is camminare (io cammino, tu cammini, lui cammina, noi camminiamo, voi camminate, loro camminano; gerundio camminando; participio passato camminato). When encountered in texts, caminare is typically corrected or noted as a misspelling, unless it appears in direct quotation of nonstandard speech or as a deliberate stylistic choice.

See also: Camminare, Italian verbs, Italian orthography, Romance-language verb formation.