difficoltà

Forms

difficoltà f (invariable)^[1] Old Italian forms include difficultà, difficultade, difficultate and dificultà.^[2] Difficultà survives as an archaic and popular form.^[3][4][5]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin difficultās (“difficulty; scarcity”), from difficilis (“difficult”).^[6][7][8][1] DELI and Zingarelli analyse the Latin noun as dis- and facultās (“ability, ease”), while the Oxford Latin Dictionary and Wiktionary derive it from difficilis with the suffix -tās.^[6][4][9][1]

The same Latin word gave Engadine difficultà, French difficulté (1239), Spanish dificultad and Portuguese dificuldade.^[10] The LEI separates the Italian forms that underwent popular sound changes from the northern forms that spread from Florence into the standard language and the south.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is Bono Giamboni's translation of Orosius, of 1292.^[2] DELI's first date is Giordano da Pisa, in 1303–1306, for “the quality of being difficult”: Se questo è di tanta difficultà e pericolo “if this is so difficult and dangerous”.^[6][11]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used the word for a road full of obstacles, for a text hard to understand, for a bodily function performed with effort, for an obstacle, for poverty and for reluctance.^[2] DELI dates “complication, obstacle” to the 14th-century Italian Livy, “objection” to Savonarola before 1498 and the plural “lack of money” to Giovanni Della Casa before 1556.^[6] An Old Florentine text of 1322–1332 uses difficultade for a doubtful or disputed point.^[10] The adjective difficoltoso is recorded from 1585.^[6]

Timeline

• 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses the word in his Orosius.^[2]
• 1303–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses difficultà for the quality of being difficult.^[6]
• 14th century – The Italian Livy uses it for “obstacle”.^[6]
• Before 1498 – Savonarola uses it for “objection”.^[6]
• Before 1556 – Giovanni Della Casa uses the plural for money troubles.^[6]
• 1585 – Difficoltoso is first recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. difficulty: the quality of being difficult: la difficoltà dell'esame.^[8][3][4][1]
2. An obstacle, a complication: Abbiamo incontrato parecchie difficoltà lungo la strada.^[8][3][12]
3. An impairment of a bodily function: difficoltà di respirazione.^[8][3][12]
4. Effort, trouble: Saliva le scale con difficoltà.^[8][3]
5. An objection: Non ha fatto difficoltà a prestarmi la macchina.^[8][4][5]
6. A difficult situation: trovarsi in difficoltà.^[8][3][4]
7. (chiefly plural) Financial straits: difficoltà economiche.^[8][3][4][5]

Word family

• difficoltoso

Related words

• difficile
• facoltà
• Latin difficultās

Usage notes

Difficoltà is feminine and invariable.^[8][1] Common phrases are mettere in difficoltà, to put someone in a tight spot, and fare difficoltà, to raise objections.^[8][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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 g 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 d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 20, 373
11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
12. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse