disperazione

Forms

disperazione f (plural disperazioni)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian desperazione, Old Italian desperatione, Old Italian disperagione and Old Italian desperation.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dēspērātiō (“despair”), formed from dēspērō (“to despair”) with -tiō.^{[4][5][1][6][7]} DELI treats it under disperare.^[8]

The LEI calls it a learned word, like Romansh disperaziun and Spanish desperación (1495, Nebrija).^[3] Old Italian had both Latin-shaped forms such as desperazione and forms such as disperazione, and the Florentine disperagione.^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is Uguccione da Lodi's Libro, a Cremonese text of the early 13th century, for the feeling of someone who expects nothing good from his present state.^[2] DELI's first date is Bono Giamboni, before 1292, with the sense “loss of all hope”.^[8][9]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian texts used the word for despair of salvation, a lack of trust in God's mercy, and for the feeling that defeat is certain; the phrase per disperazione, for want of any other way out, is already Old Italian.^[2] Buti (1385–1395) defined it as grief at one's own ill with no relief of hope.^[10][11][3] The word spread through all of Italy: the LEI records it at Siena in 1288, Pisa in 1306 and Milan before 1315, Petrarch's desperation(e), and Neapolitan despirazione before 1475.^[3]

The sense “person or thing that makes one despair” is recorded before 1580, in Borghini, and is now mostly playful or attenuated (quel cane è la disperazione dei vicini).^[8][5][12] Darsi alla disperazione is to show grief with weeping and cries, and il coraggio della disperazione the courage of someone with nothing left to lose.^[11][12][9]

Timeline

• Early 13th century – Uguccione da Lodi uses the word.^[2]
• 1288 – A Sienese translation of Egidio Colonna has disperazione.^[3]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni writes disperagione.^[8][3]
• Before 1315 – Milanese desperation appears in Bonvesin.^[3]
• Before 1374 – Petrarch uses desperation(e).^[3]
• Before 1580 – Borghini uses the word for a person or thing that makes one despair.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. despair: the state of someone who has lost all hope, deep dejection: sprofondare nella disperazione;^{[5][7][13][9][1]} per disperazione, as a last resort.^{[5][7][13][9][1]}
2. An uncontrolled show of grief or rage: darsi alla disperazione.^[7][9][12]
3. A person or thing that drives one to despair: questo rubinetto che perde è una disperazione.^{[5][7][13][9]}
4. (theology) The loss of hope in God's forgiveness and in salvation, the opposite of hope.^[5][13][12]

Related words

• disperare
• disperato
• sperare
• speranza
• Latin dēspērātiō

Usage notes

The GDLI records a separate old sense: a kind of popular poem, like the rispetto, on the hopeless love of an abandoned lover (compare disperata).^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 h i Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 19, 1509
4. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 4, 726
11. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse