Etymologically
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domanda

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Pronunciation

  • /doˈman.da/[1]

Forms

domanda f (plural domande)[1] The older and Tuscan form is Old Italian dimanda, and the TLIO also records Old Italian demanda.[2][3]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from domandare, formed without a suffix.[4][5][1][6] The verb continues Latin dēmandō (“to entrust, commend”), from mandō (“to entrust; to send word”) with the prefix dē-; in all the Romance languages except Romanian it came to mean “to ask”, through “to commend” and “to send to find out”: French demander, Occitan demandar, Catalan demanar, Spanish demandar, Portuguese demandar.[4][7][8]

The ⟨o⟩ of the first syllable comes from a pretonic ⟨e⟩ before the labial ⟨m⟩, as in domani.[4][7] According to Maurizio Vitale, quoted by DELI, ⟨dimandare⟩ was the ordinary Florentine form, while ⟨domandare⟩ had a more popular ring.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Sienese translation of Egidio Romano of 1288, in the form dimanda, for a question: “E noi alla dimanda ed allo incherimento di questa questione rispondemo” (and we reply to the question and inquiry on this matter).[3] DELI dates dimanda to Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294, where it means a request.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the word covered both questions and requests: an ambassador's message, a petition to an authority, a claim in court, a bill put to a council, and a prayer to God, including each of the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer.[3] The form domanda is recorded in Rinaldo degli Albizzi before 1442.[4]

Domanda for a written petition is found in the laws of Tuscany and in Vittorio Alfieri, before 1803, and the economic sense, the quantity of a good sought at a given price, in Francesco Carletti before 1636.[4] Today it is the usual word for a question, beside the more formal quesito, and for an application to an office.[5][9]

Timeline

  • 1288 – The Sienese Egidio Romano uses dimanda “question”.[3]
  • Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses dimanda “request”.[4][3]
  • Before 1442 – Rinaldo degli Albizzi uses the form domanda.[4]
  • Before 1636 – Francesco Carletti uses it for economic demand.[4]
  • Before 1803 – Vittorio Alfieri uses it for a written petition.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A question, what one asks in order to know something: Posso farti una domanda?[5][2][9]
  2. A question set in a test or an examination: Ho sbagliato l'ultima domanda di storia.[5][9][10]
  3. A request or application to an office or an authority: Ha presentato domanda per una borsa di studio.[5][2][9]
  4. (economics) demand, the quantity of a good or service sought on the market at a given price, as in domanda e offerta.[5][9][1]
  5. (law) The claim made in a civil action.[5][1]

Usage notes

Fare una domanda is “to ask a question”;[5][10] che domande! answers a question that is pointless or obvious.[5][10] Domanda di matrimonio is a proposal of marriage.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  10. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana