dono

Forms

dono m (plural doni)^[1] Old Italian and Tuscan also had a feminine plural Old Italian dónora, now archaic.^[2][3][4] Old Italian forms include duono and don.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin dōnum (“gift”).^[6][7][8][1] The word is pan-Romance, except Romanian: French don, Occitan do, Catalan do, Spanish don, Romansh dun in the Engadine and Sardinian donu in Logudorese.^[7][9][4]

The Latin noun belongs to the family of dō (“to give”) (Italian dare), as “what is given”.^[6][7] It goes back to Proto-Italic *dōnom and Proto-Indo-European *deh₃-no- or *doh₃-no- (“gift”), from the root *deh₃- (“to give”).^[10][1] Its cognates include Oscan dunúm, Sanskrit दान (dā́na, “gift”), Old Irish dán and Lithuanian duõnis; Ancient Greek δῶρον (dôron) and Old Church Slavonic даръ (darŭ) have a different suffix.^[10][7][11] Isidore of Seville already explained the noun by the verb “to give”.^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Cremonese poet Uguccione da Lodi, early in the 13th century.^[5] Zingarelli dates the word to before 1250, and DELI to Florentine texts of 1272–1278, in the sense of a favour or privilege granted.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already had the main modern senses: the free giving of something, the gift itself, a favour granted, and a natural quality or talent.^[5][6] Other old senses have gone: alms given in charity, presents given to a bride beside the dowry, a reward, a tax, and interest on a sum of money;^[5][4] dono di tempo, literally “gift of time”, meant usury.^[5][4] Dante wrote in the Convivio that a gift should match the one who receives it, and Boccaccio's Federigo is asked for the dono of his falcon.^[12]

A religious sense stands beside the secular one: the seven doni dello Spirito Santo, the gifts of the Holy Spirit.^[2][8] Since the 20th century dono is also used after a noun like an adjective, in pacco dono “gift parcel”.^[2][13]

Timeline

• Early 13th century – Uguccione da Lodi uses dono.^[5]
• 1272–1278 – Florentine texts use it for a favour or privilege.^[6]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for a present and for a natural quality.^[6]
• 14th century – Dono di tempo is recorded for usury.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of giving: Ha ricevuto quell'anello in dono dalla nonna.^[8][3][13]
2. A gift or present: Gli ospiti portarono un dono per il bambino.^[8][3][14]
3. (figurative) A favour or blessing: Quella vincita è stata un dono del cielo.^[8][3][15]
4. A natural talent or gift: Ha il dono di mettere tutti a loro agio.^[8][3][13]
5. (chiefly plural) The products of nature: i doni del mare e dei campi.^[3][15][14]
6. (historical) A tax rebate granted to one who paid in advance.^[8][13][14]

Word family

• donare

Related words

• dare
• donazione
• Latin donum
• French don

Usage notes

Avere il dono della parola is to be eloquent;^[8][2] avere il dono delle lingue is to learn languages easily.^[8][2] After a noun dono is invariable: pacco dono, plural pacchi dono.^[14][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e f 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 Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1382
5. ^ a b c d e f Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
13. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli