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aiuto

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word aiuto

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
late 12th century, Ritmo di Sant'Alessio
Inherited from
Latin adiutus
Ultimate origin
Latin adiuvō

Pronunciation

Forms

aiuto m (plural aiuti)[1] Older forms include Old Italian adiuto, Old Italian agiuto and the southern Old Italian ajutu.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin adiūtus (“help”), an action noun from adiuvō (“to help”), whose past participle has the same form.[3][4][1][5] GRADIT relates it to the frequentative adiūtō, the source of aiutare.[6][2] The other Romance languages use feminine nouns formed from the verb instead: Occitan ajuda, Old French aiude (now French aide), Spanish ayuda and Portuguese ajuda.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Ritmo di Sant'Alessio, a text of the Marche from the late 12th century.[2] DELI's first date is before 1249, in Pier della Vigna, for work done on behalf of someone in danger or need.[3] GDLI quotes him: “se da voi, donna mia, aiuto non aggio” (if I have no help from you, my lady).[8]

Semantic evolution

The cry aiuto! is in Boccaccio's Decameron (1348–1353), and the sense “person who helps another in a task or office” in Tuscan proclamations of 1577.[3] DEI records a medieval aiuto for the extraordinary levy the Norman kings demanded in time of need.[9] Modern specialised uses include the plural aiuti for auxiliary troops and for relief supplies, the riding aiuti by which a rider signals to the horse, and the hospital doctor ranking below the head of a department.[6][10][11][12] Before the name of a trade it forms terms such as aiuto regista “assistant director” and aiuto cuoco.[10][11]

Timeline

  • Late 12th century – The Ritmo di Sant'Alessio has the first record.[2]
  • 1219 – Devoto–Oli's date of first record.[12]
  • Before 1249 – Pier della Vigna uses aiuto “help”.[3][8]
  • 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses aiuto! as a cry.[3]
  • 1577 – Aiuto “assistant” appears in Tuscan proclamations.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. help, assistance given to someone in difficulty or danger: Grazie dell’aiuto con il trasloco.[6][13][10]
  2. Something or someone that helps; financial support; in the plural, relief supplies: Gli aiuti sono arrivati dopo tre giorni.[6][12][10]
  3. An assistant; in hospitals, formerly the doctor below the head of a department; before the name of a job: aiuto cuoco.[6][10][11]
  4. (military, plural) Auxiliary troops.[6][11]
  5. (riding, usually plural) The rider's signals to the horse with hands, legs, weight and voice.[10][12]

Interjection

  1. A cry for help: Aiuto! Non so nuotare![6][13][1]

Word family

  • aiutino

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  3. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 25
  6. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  9. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 63
  10. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  13. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse

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

“Aiuto.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/aiuto. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·