adorabile

Forms

adorabile m or f by sense (plural adorabili)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Late Latin adōrābilis (“worthy of adoration”), from adōrō (“to worship”) with the suffix -bilis.^[2][3][4][5] The LEI notes that the Latin adjective is found from the 2nd century, in Apuleius,^[6] and DEI that it came into Italian through the language of the Church.^[7] It can also be seen as from Italian adorare + -abile.^[1]

The same learned word is French adorable, Spanish adorable, Portuguese adorável and Romanian adorabil.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest date the dictionaries give is 1666, in Carlo de' Dottori, for a person or thing that is especially dear or pleasing.^[2][3][4] The religious sense “worthy of adoration” is recorded in 1669 in Bartolomeo Corsini.^[6][8]

Semantic evolution

The religious sense was the main one for a time: Paolo Segneri wrote of God's judgements as “more adorable than scrutable”, and has the superlative adorabilissimo from 1686.^[6][9] The weakened sense “delightful, charming” is recorded from 1722 in Giovan Battista Fagiuoli, and DEI ties the modern sense of “lovely” to Romanticism.^[6][7]

Tommaseo disapproved of the exclamation Adorabile!, used in mockery, as a fashion from France, and noted the euphemism donne adorabili for women of easy virtue.^[9][6] Today the religious sense is rare, and the word is mostly used of people, especially children, and of manners or smiles.^[8][10]

Timeline

• 1666 – Carlo de' Dottori uses adorabile of something dear.^[2][3]
• 1669 – Bartolomeo Corsini uses it for what is worthy of adoration.^[6][8]
• 1686 – Paolo Segneri uses the superlative adorabilissimo.^[6]
• 1704 – Adorabilità is recorded in Lorenzo Bellini.^[6]
• 1722 – Fagiuoli uses it for “delightful”.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. adorable, charming, lovable: Il loro cane è adorabile.^[4][11][12]
2. (rare) Worthy of adoration.^[4][8][12]

Word family

• adorabilità
• adorabilmente

Related words

• adorare
• adorazione
• detestabile

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it
7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 64
8. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse