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adulto

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word adulto

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1309–1310, Sienese statute
Borrowed from
Latin adultus
Ultimate origin
Latin alō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin adultus
English adult
French adulte
Italian adulto

Pronunciation

Forms

adulto (feminine adulta, masculine plural adulti, feminine plural adulte)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin adultus (“grown up, fully grown”), the past participle of adolēscō (“to grow up”).[2][3][4][5] The Latin verb is an inchoative formed with ad- on alō (“to nourish”), the verb that also gave Latin altus and so Italian alto;[3][6][1] Devoto compares German alt (“old”).[6] Wiktionary takes the root back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-.[1]

The LEI lists only learned continuations of the Latin participle in Romance: Romanian adult, Old Occitan adulto (about 1140), French adulte, Catalan adult (13th century), Spanish adulto (1463) and the Italian word.[7][3] DEI calls it an international word.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a Sienese statute of 1309–1310, where the noun means someone who is no longer a minor and can act at law.[8][9] DELI and the LEI date the word to Dante (before 1321), with the sense of a person in full physical and mental maturity.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used adulto of human beings who had grown up, and as a noun for a grown man.[8] The use for animals and plants that have reached full growth is recorded from Federico Frezzi's Quadriregio (1416), and the adjective used as a noun from Giovanni Rucellai (1525).[7] Derivatives were few and late: adultivo “able to grow” in the 14th-century translation of Crescenzi, inadulto “not yet grown up” in Silvio Pellico (1821) and adultità “adulthood” in Alberto Savinio (before 1952).[7]

The word long kept a learned tone: Petrocchi's dictionary of 1891 marked it as not popular.[7] In the modern language it is a word of high frequency, with a figurative sense “mature, fully developed” said of a style or a society, and per adulti marks films and publications not meant for children.[5][9]

Timeline

  • 1309–1310 – A Sienese statute uses adulto for a person no longer under age.[8]
  • Before 1321 – Dante uses the word.[2][7]
  • 14th century – Adultivo appears in the Italian translation of Crescenzi.[7]
  • 1416 – Frezzi applies adulto to growth in general.[7]
  • 1525 – Rucellai uses adulto as a noun.[7]
  • 1821 – Pellico has inadulto.[7]
  • Before 1952 – Savinio coins adultità.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Fully grown, having reached complete physical and mental maturity: Ha due figli ormai adulti.[5][9][10]
  2. (biology) Of an animal or plant, fully developed and able to reproduce.[5][9][11]
  3. Typical of or suited to a grown person: una scelta adulta.[5][9]
  4. (figurative) mature, advanced, fully developed: una democrazia adulta.[5][9][11]

Noun

  1. An adult, a grown-up person: Il biglietto per gli adulti costa dieci euro.[5][9][12]
  2. Per adulti: for adults only, of a film, show or publication not suitable for children.[9]

Word family

  • adultità
  • inadulto
  • subadulto
  • adultismo

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 66
  5. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 1, 862
  8. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  10. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Adulto.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/adulto. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·