Lessico Etimologico Italiano

The Lessico Etimologico Italiano ( short LEI) is an etymological dictionary of the Italian, which has been published since 1979 by the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz. The competent Commission steps up to the task in their own words, " to make the vocabulary of the Italo Romania in a pan- Roman context ." Thus, each word is studied, starting from its linguistic history root taking into account geographical and socio-cultural language contexts. He also considers the dialectal vocabulary.

Project manager of the LEI are Max Pfister and Wolfgang Schweickard. They currently employ four full-time employees.

Since 1979, the LEI appears in Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag Wiesbaden, about four fascicles are brought out annually. So far, twelve volumes are fully published. With the fascicles D6 (2012 ) extends the lexicon to Lemma * DEOPERIRE.