coraggioso

Forms

coraggioso (feminine coraggiosa, masculine plural coraggiosi, feminine plural coraggiose)^[1] Old Italian forms include coraçoso, corazosa, curagioso and Sicilian corayusi.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Italian coraggio + -oso.^[3][4][1][2] The noun was borrowed from Old Occitan coratge (“heart; courage”), from Vulgar Latin *corāticum, a derivative of Latin cor (“heart”).^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Giacomo da Lentini (c. 1230–1250), in the sense of someone with strength of mind, who dares.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used the word for a self-assured person, a warrior valiant in arms, an animal, and an action that needs daring.^[2] It also meant frank and honest, of noble birth, and noble-hearted or generous.^[2] Dante da Maiano writes Talor pensando son sì coraggioso, / che spero dimandar del suo piacere (“Sometimes, thinking, I am so bold that I hope to ask her pleasure”).^[7][8]

As a noun it is old too: Castiglione's Cortegiano says that the brave (i coraggiosi) are often known more in small things than in great ones.^[7][8] Devoto–Oli adds a modern use for a decision or initiative taken out of conviction against one's own interest or the opinion of many.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1230–1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses coraggioso.^[2][5]
• Second half of the 13th century – GRADIT's date for the first record.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. brave, courageous: having courage and showing it: un pompiere coraggioso.^[3][9][4]
2. Of an act, done with courage: una scelta coraggiosa.^[3][9][10]
3. Of a decision, bold, taken out of conviction even against one's own interest or common opinion.^[9]

Noun

1. A brave person.^{[3][9][4][11]}

Word family

• coraggiosamente

Related words

• coraggio
• cuore
• Old Occitan coratge
• Latin cor

Usage notes

Synonyms are audace, ardito and valoroso; the opposite is pavido.^[12][4] The s is pronounced both voiced and voiceless.^[1][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ a b c Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3, 760
8. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
10. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
12. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli