babbo

Forms

babbo m (plural babbi)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *babbus (“father”), a word of children's speech built on a repeated syllable /ba/.^[2][3][1] The LEI infers a Latin base from the Romance forms, and Nocentini treats it as a Romance nursery word, a childish babbling fixed as this word in Italy.^[4][5] Nocentini notes that Latin had only pappus (“grandfather, old man”) among such labial words.^[5]

The same word is Sardinian babbu and Romansh bap, and the LEI adds Corsican babbu and Old Sardinian babu.^[5][4][6] Battisti and Alessio compare nursery words of the same shape in other languages, such as Turkish baba.^[7] Körting adds Romanian babă (“old woman”), but says it may be of Slavic origin.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a Sienese document of 1235, and the LEI cites a San Gimignano text of 1236.^[8][4] DELI starts from Zucchero Bencivenni, about 1310, who lists mama, pappa e babbo among the first words a child says.^[2] In both the sense is “father”.^[8][2]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used babbo for the Pope, as father in Christ, and for a spiritual father.^[8] Dante calls the vernacular a lingua che chiami mamma e babbo, a language fit for children, and comments on the word again in the De vulgari eloquentia.^[2][9]

Until the 19th century the word was confined to Tuscany.^[2] Tommaseo wrote that in Tuscany not only children but everyone called their father babbo, since padre was too solemn for family talk and papà sounded French.^[10][2] From Tuscan use it entered the common language against strong opposition, and it still competes there with papà, the form of the south and the north.^[9] It is also used in Corsica, Romagna, Umbria and Sardinia, and only in Bregaglia and Sardinia is it the one word for “father”.^[7][2]

The phrase a babbo morto, of a debt to be paid with the father's inheritance, gave the noun babbomorto (1797).^[5]

Timeline

• 1235 – The word appears in a Sienese document.^[8]
• 1236 – It is recorded at San Gimignano.^[4]
• About 1310 – Zucchero Bencivenni names babbo among children's first words.^[2]
• Before 1321 – Dante writes of a lingua che chiami mamma e babbo.^[2]
• Before 1380 – Saint Catherine of Siena uses the word.^[4]
• 1797 – Babbomorto is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (colloquial, especially in Tuscany) dad, father; also used to address one's father: babbo, mi accompagni?^{[3][11][12][1]}

Word family

• babbino
• babbomorto
• babboriveggoli

Related words

• papà
• mamma
• babbeo

Usage notes

Unlike padre, babbo can be used without the article when there is no possessive: babbo è uscito.^[13][10] Set phrases are Babbo Natale (Father Christmas), a babbo morto (of a debt to be paid with the inheritance, or never), and non avere né babbo né mamma (of an idea, to be groundless).^[3][14][13] In southern Italy, Calabria and Sicily a dialect word babbo means “simpleton, fool”, compare babbasuni;^[7][1] Wiktionary takes it from Sicilian babbu and makes it a doublet of babbeo.^[7][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 4, 83
5. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
7. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 390
8. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
9. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 1, 919
10. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
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. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli