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conquista

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word conquista

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1304 before 1304, Plutarco volgarizzato More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
Latin conquīrō

Pronunciation

  • /konˈkwis.ta/[1]

Forms

conquista f (plural conquiste)[1] Old Italian also has conquesta.[2]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from Italian conquistare (“to conquer”).[3][4][5][6][7] The verb goes back to Vulgar Latin *conquistāre, an intensive of Latin conquīrō (“to seek out, procure”).[3][8] Nocentini gives the glossed form conquisitāre.[8]

Wiktionary instead treats the noun as inherited from a reconstructed Vulgar Latin *conquista (“conquest”).[1] The same noun is Spanish conquista and Portuguese conquista, and French conquête corresponds to it.[9][1] The Treccani holds that the figurative sense of success in love follows the French word.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Italian translation of Plutarch, before 1304, in the sense of conquering and of the land conquered: Seguita il libro de' fatti e delle conquiste del re Alessandro (“Here follows the book of the deeds and conquests of King Alexander”).[3][10] The TLIO's first record is in Simone da Lentini, a Sicilian text of 1358, for the subjugation of a territory by force of arms.[2]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used the word for a quest, that of the Golden Fleece.[2] Phrases of war and politics followed: paese di conquista, a country held under military law, and politica di conquista, expansionism.[10]

Magalotti, before 1712, is the first to use the word for progress won through struggle and for success in love; he wrote of a little girl who would one day make great conquests.[3][11] Tommaseo thought the love sense came from France, and the Treccani agrees.[11][7] The 19th century spoke of the conquests of science and industry.[11] By extension the noun now also names the person won over.[4][12]

Timeline

  • Before 1304 – First record, in the Italian Plutarch.[3]
  • 1358 – Simone da Lentini uses the word in Sicilian.[2]
  • Before 1712 – Magalotti uses it for hard-won progress and for success in love.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. conquest: the taking of a territory by force of arms: la conquista dell'Inghilterra.[4][13][5][1]
  2. The territory or thing conquered.[4][13][5]
  3. (figurative) The reaching of a goal through effort: la conquista della cima.[4][13][14]
  4. (figurative) An achievement or advance in a field: una conquista della medicina moderna.[4][14][1]
  5. (figurative) Success in love: fare conquiste.[4][5][12]
  6. The person won over in love, a catch.[4][12][1]
  • conquistare
  • conquistatore
  • riconquista
  • conquidere
  • French conquête

Usage notes

Terra di conquista is land conquered or still to be conquered, and figuratively a field open to anyone.[4][14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
  8. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  11. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  12. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  13. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  14. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
Cite this entry

“Conquista.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/conquista. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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