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gondola

Etymology and origin of the English word gondola

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɡɒn.də.lə/ (UK); /ˈɡɑndələ/, /ɡɑnˈdoʊlə/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Venetian gondola,[2][3][4][5] earlier borrowed into English as goundel,[2][3] from Old Italian gondula,[6][2][3] a word of uncertain origin.[2][3] Barnhart suggests a diminutive of gonda, a kind of boat,[2][3] while Merriam-Webster and Random House derive it from Medieval Greek kontoúra “small vessel”,[4][5] from a word meaning “short-tailed”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A light flat-bottomed boat used on the canals of Venice (1549).[7][2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

In American English the word was applied to large flat-bottomed river boats (1774)[7][4] and to open railway freight cars (1871).[7][3] It named the car beneath an airship from 1881,[7][3] the cabin of a ski lift from 1957,[7][3] and a free-standing display counter in a shop from 1942.[7][1]

Timeline

  • 1549 – a Venetian canal boat.[7][2][3][4]
  • 1603 – gondolier.[2]
  • 1774 – an American river boat.[7]
  • 1871 – an open railway freight car.[7][3]
  • 1881 – the car of an airship.[7][3]
  • 1942 – a display counter in a shop.[7]
  • 1957 – the car of a ski lift.[7][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A long, narrow, flat-bottomed boat with a high, pointed bow and stern, rowed by one oar from the stern on the canals of Venice.
  2. A flat-bottomed river boat.
  3. An open railway car with low sides, for heavy bulk freight.
  4. A cabin or basket hung below a balloon or airship.
  5. An enclosed car hung from a cable, as on a ski lift.
  6. A free-standing display unit in a shop.
  • gondolier

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Gondola.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/gondola. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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