doge

Forms

doge m (plural dogi)^[1] An old form is Old Italian dogio, taken from the plural dogi.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Venetian doxe (also written doze), which continues Latin dux (“leader, commander”) in its oblique case.^{[5][6][7][8][1][2]} DELI holds that Italian took it in writing, as the open ⟨ò⟩ shows, against the regular Venetian close vowel;^[5][9] Devoto explains ⟨-ge⟩ as a Tuscan correction of Venetian ⟨-ze⟩.^[5][9] Genoa had Ligurian dose.^[7][2] The same Latin word gave, by other routes, duce and duca.^[1][10]

The Latin noun is formed from dūcō (“to lead”).^[1][11] De Vaan notes that its zero grade and agentive sense suggest it was taken from compounds; the verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to draw, pull”).^[12][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a Venetian pact with Aleppo of 1207–1208, for the supreme magistrate of the Republic of Venice.^[13] DELI's first Tuscan record is in Malispini (13th century): figliuolo del doge di Venezia, “son of the doge of Venice”.^[5][14]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the word also meant a duke or lord, a ruler of a people, a military leader and, figuratively, a guide;^[13][15] Tommaseo cites Bible translations with li dogi del popolo.^[13][15] When Genoa adopted the office in 1339, Giovanni Villani wrote that the Genoese chiamarono dogio al modo de' Veneziani Simone Boccanegra.^[14][7] The title lasted in both republics until the end of the 18th century.^[7][8]

From Italian the word became international: French doge (1487), German Doge (1728), medieval Arabic and Turkish.^[16][2][1] The English word doge is recorded in 1544, through Italian or French.^[16][17]

Timeline

• 1207–1208 – A Venetian pact with Aleppo has the first record.^[13]
• 13th century – Malispini uses doge in Tuscan.^[5]
• Before 1389 – Francesco di Vannozzo uses dogaressa.^[5]
• 1417 – Dogado, the office of doge, is recorded.^[5]
• 1487 – French doge is first recorded.^[16]
• 1544 – English doge is first recorded.^[16]
• 1728 – German Doge is first recorded.^[16]

Meanings

Noun

1. (history) The doge: the head of state of the Republic of Venice, from the 8th to the end of the 18th century.^{[7][18][8][3]}
2. (history) The supreme magistrate of the Republic of Genoa, from 1339 to the end of the 18th century.^[7][18][8]
3. (literary, archaic) A leader, lord or commander.^[7][3][19]

Word family

• dogale
• dogaressa
• dogato

Related words

• duce
• duca
• Latin dux

Usage notes

Vivere come un doge or stare come un doge means to live in luxury.^[18][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1372
3. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
5. ^ a b c d e f g 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 c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ 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)
9. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 151
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
13. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
14. ^ 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, 899
15. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
16. ^ a b c d e Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
17. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
18. ^ 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
19. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana