Etymologically
Log in

buonasera

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 06:49. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˌbwɔ.naˈse.ra/[1]

Forms

buonasera (interjection; feminine invariable noun)[2] It is also written as buona sera, and less often bonasera.[3][4][5] Old Italian has bona sera and buona sera.[6]

Etymology

It is a compound from Italian buona (“good”) + sera (“evening”), the feminine of buono with sera, first a greeting phrase and later written as a single word.[2][7][3][6] It is formed like buongiorno and buonanotte, and like French bonsoir and Romanian bună seara.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in a collection of insults recorded at Lucca between 1330 and 1384, as a greeting or wish used when people met or parted in the evening.[6] Zingarelli dates it to 1365 and GRADIT to before 1400.[7][2]

Semantic evolution

In Bibbiena's comedy a character wonders how to greet someone: not “good day”, since it is no longer morning, and not “good evening”, since it is not late yet.[8] DELI records the noun, “the greeting itself”, in Aretino in 1536 and in Giovan Maria Cecchi in 1556, where it is masculine at first and later feminine.[9]

In current Italian it is said from the afternoon on, both on meeting and on leaving.[3][7] Colloquially it also expresses disappointment or disbelief, or marks something that ends abruptly.[2][3][7] The signorina buonasera was the television announcer who presented the evening's programmes.[3][2]

Timeline

  • 1330–1384 – Bona sera appears in insults recorded at Lucca.[6]
  • 1365 – Zingarelli's date for the first record.[7]
  • 1536 – Aretino uses the greeting as a noun, in the masculine.[9]
  • 1556 – Giovan Maria Cecchi uses the noun.[9]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. good evening; a greeting used from the afternoon on, when meeting or parting: Buonasera, signora, come sta?[2][3][7]
  2. (regional) good afternoon.[1]
  3. (colloquial) Expresses disbelief or disappointment, or that something is over and done with: «Domani mi alzo alle sei.» «Sì, buonasera!»[2][3][7]

Noun

  1. (feminine, invariable) The evening greeting itself: Mi ha dato la buonasera e se n'è andato.[2][4][5]

Usage notes

In speech the greeting is often shortened to sera.[2] The phrase dare la buonasera is the usual way of saying “to wish someone good evening”.[3][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  5. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  6. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  9. ^ a b c Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli