comodo

Forms

comodo (feminine comoda, masculine plural comodi, feminine plural comode, superlative comodissimo)^[1] The archaic and regional form commodo keeps the Latin double consonant.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin commodus (“of the right measure; convenient”); the noun continues the Latin neuter commodum (“advantage”).^[5][6][2][7] The Latin adjective is formed from com- (“with”) and modus (“measure”), the source of modo.^[5][6][7] Sabatini and Coletti note that ⟨commodo⟩ keeps the Latin sound, while in ⟨comodo⟩ the word is no longer felt as a compound.^[3]

The Latin word was also borrowed as Friulian còmut, Romansh comad, French commode (from 1542), Catalan còmodo (1534), Spanish cómodo (about 1400) and Portuguese cômodo (1582).^[8] De Vaan derives the Latin noun from Proto-Indo-European *med-o- (“measure”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”).^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Andrea da Grosseto (1268, Tuscan), in the sense “easy, without difficulty”.^[4] The noun appears around 1300 in the Italian version of Albertano, who explains, after Cassiodorus, that comodo is as much as to say cum modo, “with measure”.^[5][10]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used the adjective for what is easy, suitable and advantageous, and the noun for advantage, opportunity and one's own convenience;^[4] fare il proprio comodo, “to do as one pleases”, is already medieval.^[4] Boccaccio has più comodo tempo, “a more convenient time” (1353).^[5][11] The sense “comfortable, at ease”, of a person, is recorded in 1841.^[5]

Luogo comodo, a privy, is found from the 14th century and spread in the dialects, and comodo alone came to mean a latrine.^[8] As a musical tempo mark, comodo passed into German (1802) and French.^[12] Today the word is mostly used of comfortable furniture, clothes and lives, and in phrases of convenience such as fare comodo and di comodo.^[7][2][13]

Timeline

• 1268 – Andrea da Grosseto uses the adjective.^[4]
• c. 1300 – The noun appears in the Italian version of Albertano.^[5]
• 1353 – Boccaccio writes più comodo tempo.^[5]
• Before 1405 – Comodità is recorded.^[5]
• 1802 – Comodo is recorded in German as a musical term.^[12]
• 1828 – The tempo mark comodo is recorded in Italian.^[12]
• 1841 – Tommaseo records the sense “at ease”.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. comfortable, giving ease: un divano comodo; of clothes, loose: pantaloni comodi.^[7][2][3]
2. convenient, suiting one's needs: orari comodi per chi lavora.^[7][2]
3. Easy, without effort or difficulty: una salita comoda.^[7][2]
4. Of a person, at ease, comfortable: Mettiti comodo.^[7][3]
5. Of a person, fond of comfort and averse to effort.^[7][2][14]
6. (music) At an easy, moderate tempo.^[12]

Noun

1. Comfort, convenience, (plural) amenities: una casa con tutti i comodi.^[7][2][11]
2. Personal advantage or interest.^[7][13]

Word family

• comodamente
• comodone
• scomodo
• scomodare
• scomodità

Related words

• comodità
• incomodo
• comodato
• accomodare
• incomodare
• modo
• Latin commodus
• French commode

Usage notes

Common phrases: con comodo “at one's leisure”, fare comodo “to come in handy”, prendersela comoda “to take it easy”, fare i propri comodi “to please oneself”, di comodo “of convenience” (bandiera di comodo, a flag of convenience).^[7][2][13] Comodo! is the military order “at ease”.^[7][14]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 16, 25
9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3, 380
11. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b c d Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
13. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
14. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana