German words from Italian
12 German words with Italian in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
Finale
It is borrowed from Italian finale (“end, finale”), from Latin fīnālis (“at the end, concerning the boundaries”), a derivative of fīnis (“end, boundary”). Pfeifer notes that the Italian word is only…
Firma
It is borrowed from Italian firma (“binding signature”), borrowed in the early 18th century. The Italian noun belongs to firmare (“to sign, to ratify by signature”), from Latin firmō (“to make firm…
Konzert
It is borrowed from Italian concerto, borrowed at the beginning of the 17th century. Pfeifer notes that German took the Italian word with a Latinised pronunciation. The Italian noun belongs to…
Liste
It is borrowed from Italian lista (“strip, border; list”), borrowed at the end of the 16th century. The Italian word, like Medieval Latin lista (“edge, border, strip”), came from the Germanic word…
Million
It is borrowed from Italian milione (“great thousand”), an augmentative with the suffix -one of mille (“thousand”), from Latin mīlle. The Italian word, at first without a fixed value, spread from…
Modell
It is borrowed from Italian modello (“pattern, model”), borrowed around 1600 as a term of the visual arts. The Italian word goes back to Vulgar Latin *modellus, which stands for Latin modulus…
Motto
It is borrowed from Italian motto (“motto; witty saying, (formerly) word”), borrowed in the 18th century. The Italian word goes back, like French mot (“word”), to Late Latin muttum (“a mutter…
Nummer
It is borrowed from Italian numero (“number”), a word of the merchants' language borrowed in the 16th century, from Latin numerus (“number, figure”). It became feminine after Zahl. Kluge relates the…
Post
It is borrowed from Italian posta (“relay station”), taken over together with the institution at the end of the 15th century. The Italian word meant a fixed place, the station where riders and…
Prozent
It is borrowed from Italian per cento (“for a hundred, per hundred”), borrowed into the language of south German merchants in the 15th century. The Italian phrase is made of per (“for, by”) and…
Soldat
It is borrowed from Italian soldato (“soldier”), literally “one taken into pay”, the past participle used as a noun of soldare (“to take into pay”), which belongs to soldo (“coin, pay”) and goes…
Spaß
It is borrowed from Italian spasso (“amusement, pastime”), recorded first in the 16th century in the unadapted form Spasso and in its present form from the 17th. The Italian noun is formed from…