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-essa

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word -essa

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
Inherited from
Latin -issa
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek -ισσα

Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin -ĭssa, a suffix of spoken Latin.[2][3][4][5][6] Latin took it from Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa), where it formed feminine nouns of persons.[7][1]

Meanings

Suffix

  1. Forms the feminine of nouns of persons, above all of noble titles and of jobs and professions: contessa, duchessa, principessa, dottoressa, professoressa, poetessa.[6][7][2][4]
  2. (dated) Names the wife of a man holding an office: generalessa, prefettessa.[6][5]
  3. Forms feminine nouns of jobs with an ironic or disparaging note: medichessa, giudichessa, vigilessa, sindachessa.[6][5][4]
  4. Forms the feminine of some animal names: leonessa, elefantessa.[6][2][4]
  5. Added to nouns of things, has an augmentative and often pejorative sense: articolessa, pennellessa, sonettessa.[2][6][4]

Word family

  • contessa
  • duchessa
  • principessa
  • dottoressa
  • professoressa
  • poetessa
  • leonessa
  • Latin -issa

Usage notes

Using a noun in -essa for the wife of an official (generalessa, prefettessa) is now old-fashioned; a word like presidentessa today names the woman who holds the office herself.[6] Sabatini–Coletti notes the ironic or disparaging tone of some of these words, such as vigilessa and presidentessa.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  3. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio, Il Nuovo De Mauro, online ed., dizionario.internazionale.it
  5. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
  7. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“-essa.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/-essa. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·