frammenta

Frammenta is the third-person singular present indicative form of the Italian verb frammentare, meaning to fragment or break into pieces. It is also the informal second-person singular imperative form (frammenta!) used to give a direct command to someone to fragment or break apart something. The verb frammentare is transitive, typically requiring a direct object, as in fragmenting an object into smaller parts.

In terms of usage, frammentare describes the act of turning a material or object into fragments. The intransitive sense, framed with reflexive forms such as frammentarsi, can describe a material’s tendency to break apart, as in il vetro si frammenta facilmente (the glass fragments easily). A common example with the imperative is Frammenta la ceramica in pezzi piccoli! (Fragment the ceramic into small pieces!). The present indicative forms include io frammento, tu frammenti, lui/lei frammenta, noi frammentiamo, voi frammentate, loro frammentano; the imperative forms are tu frammenta, Lei frammenti, noi frammentiamo, voi frammentate, loro frammentino.

Etymology traces frammentare to frammento (fragment), which derives from Latin fragmentum, related to frangere (to break). The noun frammento is the base form for “fragment,” and frammentare is the corresponding verb meaning “to fragment.” Frammenta, as a word form, therefore signals the action of fragmenting performed by a subject or, in imperative usage, an instruction directed at someone.

See also: frammento, frammentazione, frammentare, frantumare.