Etymologically
Log in

affare

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Italian word affare

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Compound
First attested
last quarter of the 12th century, Proverbia que dicuntur
Ultimate origin
Latin ad,faciō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin ad
Italian a
Italian affare
Derived words
Italian abbastanza ← a
Italian accanto ← a
Italian addosso ← a
Italian affatto ← a
Italian appena ← a
Italian arrivederci ← a
Italian attraverso ← a

Pronunciation

Forms

affare m (plural affari)[1] Older forms include Old Italian afare, Old Italian afar, Old Italian adfare and Old Italian affà.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian a + fare “to do”, from phrases such as “avere a fare” “to have to do” or “cosa a fare” “a thing to be done”.[3][4][5][1] DELI, Nocentini and Devoto–Oli think its spread was helped by French affaire, and Sabatini–Coletti call it a calque of the French word.[3][4][6][7] DEI and the TLIO go further and take it probably for a Gallicism, or at least a word supported by French “affaire” (12th century) and Old Occitan afaire.[8][2] The French word is made in the same way, from à and faire.[9] Sicilian affari is a cognate.[1]

DELI puts down to French influence in particular the sense “case dealt with in court” and the phrase “non è affar mio” “it is none of my business”.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur of the last quarter of the 12th century, and its first sense is a thing to be done, an occupation or business in general.[2][4] DELI's first record is Arrigo Testa in the early 13th century, for a person's condition and standing.[3]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian affare meant a matter to be dealt with and, just as often, a person's condition, character or way of life;[2] per nullo affare meant “in no case”.[2] The sense “social condition” lasted into Manzoni, who wrote of a couple d'alto affare, of high rank.[5][10] Brunetto Latini used the word before 1294 for a task to be carried out.[3]

The commercial sense, a business deal, is recorded in Giuseppe Baretti in 1765, and the plural affari came to mean business in general, as in uomo d'affari “businessman”.[3][5][6] In 1802 Giovanni Battista Casti used affare for a thing one cannot or will not name, the colloquial “thingummy”.[3][5] Political scandals are called affari after the French affaire, as in l'affare Dreyfus.[5][11] Francesco De Sanctis coined or first used affarismo and affarista in 1866.[3][4]

Timeline

  • Last quarter of the 12th century – The Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur use affare.[2]
  • Early 13th century – Arrigo Testa uses it for a person's condition.[3]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for a task.[3]
  • 1765 – Giuseppe Baretti uses it for a commercial deal.[3]
  • 1802 – Casti uses it for an unnamed thing.[3]
  • 1866 – Francesco De Sanctis uses affarismo and affarista.[3]
  • 1877 – The legal sense “case before a court” is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A matter to be dealt with; a task or business: Ho ancora un affare urgente da sbrigare.[5][6][7]
  2. (colloquial) A question or situation: È un brutto affare, meglio non immischiarsi.[5][7][11]
  3. A commercial or financial deal; a bargain: A quel prezzo la casa è un affare.[5][6][7]
  4. (plural) Business, trade and finance as a whole: Si occupa di affari da quando aveva vent'anni.[5][6]
  5. A political or judicial case that causes a stir; an affair: l'affare Dreyfus.[5][7][11]
  6. (colloquial) A thing one does not name precisely; a gadget: Come si accende quest'affare?[5][7][10]
  7. (dated) Social condition or rank: una dama d'alto affare.[5][7][10]

Word family

  • affarista
  • affarismo
  • affaristico
  • affarone
  • affaraccio

Usage notes

Farsi gli affari propri means “to mind one's own business”, and affari tuoi! is a brusque “that's your problem”.[5][11] Gli affari sono affari is a proverb.[6] A separate, obsolete verb affare, reflexive affarsi “to suit, be fitting”, is formed from fare.[8][2][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  8. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 73
  9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  10. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET, p. 1, 214
Cite this entry

“Affare.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/affare. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·