bambino

Forms

bambino m (plural bambini, feminine bambina, diminutive bambinétto (“smallish child”) or bambinùccio (“baby”), augmentative bambinóne (“large child; child-like person”), pejorative bambinàccio, endearing bambinèllo)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian bambo + -ino, the diminutive of the old word Old Italian bambo (“child; simpleton”).^[2][3][4][5] The word ⟨bambo⟩ is of imitative origin, from the first sounds of a child's speech: the LEI sets up a root ⟨bamb-⟩, a form of the babbling base of babbo with an inserted nasal, documented in many languages.^[6][2][7] It is connected with the gloss word Late Latin bambalo (“stammerer”), and Etymonline and Tommaseo compare Ancient Greek βαμβαίνω (bambaínō, “to stammer”).^[8][9][10]

The variant with ⟨i⟩, bimbo, belongs to western Tuscany and entered the standard language from the 16th century.^[6][2] French bambin (1726) is borrowed from Italian, as are English bambino and German Bambino.^[11][3][1] According to the DEI the word was earlier used in French as a painters' term for the infant Jesus, and in southern Italy, where it is not native, it has only that meaning.^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bambo is recorded as an adjective “foolish” in the Sienese Fatti di Cesare at the end of the 13th century, and as a noun “child” in the Intelligenza around 1300.^[5] The TLIO's first record of bambino is in Boccaccio's Rime, before 1375, in the sense “young child”; it also has “infant” and “foetus”.^[5][13]

Semantic evolution

DELI dates the senses of bambino “child” and “son or daughter” to Machiavelli (before 1527), the adjective “very young” to Bernardo Davanzati (before 1606) and “inexperienced, naive” to Paolo Segneri (before 1691); the use for a naive adult is recorded by Tommaseo in 1865.^[2] The Christ child, il Bambino, and the figurines of him placed on altars are recorded from 1543.^[11]

The phrase gettare via il bambino con l'acqua sporca “to throw out the baby with the bathwater” spread in recent Italian; it is the German das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten, come through French.^[2] The derivative bambinaia “nursemaid” (1855) met competition from the French bonne.^[2]

English took bambino first for images of the infant Jesus shown in Italian churches at Christmas (1720 according to DIFIT, 1761 according to Etymonline), and German used Bambino for a child from 1879.^[11][9]

Timeline

• Late 13th century – Bambo “foolish” is in the Fatti di Cesare.^[5]
• Before 1375 – Boccaccio uses bambino.^[5]
• Before 1527 – Machiavelli uses it for a child and a son.^[2]
• 1543 – Bambini are figurines of the infant Jesus on altars.^[11]
• 1720 – English bambino is first recorded.^[11]
• 1726 – French bambin is recorded.^[11]
• 1855 – Bambinaia is recorded.^[2]
• 1879 – German Bambino is recorded.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. child, from birth to the beginning of boyhood or girlhood: la scuola organizza una gita per i bambini.^[4][14][15]
2. Boy, male child: hanno avuto un bambino.^[4][1]
3. (colloquial) Son or daughter; in the plural, someone's children: stasera i bambini dormono dai nonni.^[4][14][15]
4. (figurative) Adult who behaves childishly: smettila di fare il bambino.^[4][14][16]
5. Affectionate or ironic form of address to an adult.^[4][14]
6. il Bambino: the infant Jesus, and an image of him.^[4][13][15]

Adjective

1. Very young: sposa bambina, a child bride.^[4][14][13]
2. (figurative) naive, immature, not yet developed: una tecnologia ancora bambina.^[4][15]

Word family

• bambinaia
• bambinata
• bambinesco
• bambinone
• bambinaggine
• bambineggiare
• bambinello

Related words

• bambola
• bimbo
• babbo
• French bambin

Usage notes

Fixed phrases include aspettare un bambino (to be expecting), bambino prodigio (child prodigy) and un gioco da bambini (child's play).^[4][14][13]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ a b Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 4, 1040
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 55
8. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 4, 1088
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d e f g Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
12. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
13. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ 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
15. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
16. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana