dubbio

Forms

dubbio m (plural dubbi); as an adjective dubbio (feminine dubbia, masculine plural dubbi, feminine plural dubbie)^[1] The older spelling with one ⟨b⟩, dubio, is marked archaic.^[2][3] The TLIO also records Old Italian dobbio and dobio.^[4]

Etymology

It is a learned word: the adjective is borrowed from Latin dubius (“wavering, uncertain”), and the noun is dubium (“doubt”), the neuter of the adjective used as a noun.^[5][6][1][2] The doubled ⟨bb⟩ is the normal Tuscan treatment of Latin /bj/ after the stressed vowel.^[3][7][5] DEI also lists the related Latin dubiōsus, the source of dubbioso.^[8][6]

The adjective belongs with Latin duo (“two”): it first meant “hesitating between two (things)”.^[6][5][9] Nocentini compares the same development in German Zweifel (“doubt”), related to the word for “double”.^[6] De Vaan derives it from an older adjective Latin *dubos (“in doubt”), from which a verb *dubō and then the new adjective were formed; he suggests a source Proto-Indo-European *du-bʰHu-o- (“of two forms, double”), with the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to be, become”), as in Ancient Greek διφυής (diphuḗs, “of two shapes”).^[10][1] Isidore of Seville already explained the word as “of two ways”.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in a poem of the Sicilian school by Iacopo Mostacci, in the first half of the 13th century.^[4] DELI dates the noun in the sense “dilemma, question” to the same poet and the sense “state of mind of someone who doubts” to Giordano da Pisa in 1303–1306.^[5] The adjective appears before 1292 in Bono Giamboni, of an outcome that cannot be foreseen.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the noun covered incomplete knowledge and its effects, from disbelief to hesitation and fear, and was often used of wavering faith; it also meant a point to be argued in a disputation and, in law, a doubtful passage of a text.^[4] Set phrases such as senza dubbio, in dubbio and mettere in dubbio are already Old Italian.^[4] Dante opens a passage of the Paradiso with S'io fui nel primo dubbio disvestito (“If I was freed from my first doubt”).^[11]

The adjective was used of what cannot be known for certain (Old Italian translations of Cicero, early 14th century), of a person unable to decide (Dante, before 1321) and of something ambiguous (Passavanti, 1354).^[5] Modern uses add the sense “questionable, of uncertain honesty”, as in di dubbia fama, and in philosophy the dubbio metodico of Descartes.^[9][2][12]

Timeline

• Early 13th century – Iacopo Mostacci uses the noun for a question or dilemma.^[5][4]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses the adjective of an uncertain outcome.^[5]
• 1303–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses the noun for the state of doubting.^[5]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses the derivative dubbioso.^[5]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses the adjective for “undecided”.^[5]
• 1354 – Iacopo Passavanti uses it for “ambiguous”.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. doubt, the state of someone who is unsure and cannot decide or judge: Era in dubbio se partire o restare.^[9][2][3]
2. suspicion, a fear that something is wrong: Comincio ad avere qualche dubbio su quel testimone.^[9][3][12]
3. An unclear point, a problem that is hard to solve: Il professore ha chiarito l'ultimo dubbio.^[9][2]
4. (philosophy) The suspension of judgement as a method, as in dubbio metodico.^[9][2][12]

Adjective

1. uncertain, that cannot be known or decided with certainty: Il risultato della votazione resta dubbio.^[9][2][13]
2. questionable, open to doubt about its honesty or taste: un affare di dubbia correttezza.^[9][2][3]
3. Indistinct, hard to make out: la luce dubbia della sera.^[9][13][14]

Word family

• dubbioso
• dubbiosità
• dubbiezza
• indubbio
• dubbiamente

Related words

• dubitare
• due
• doppio
• Latin dubius

Usage notes

Common phrases are senza dubbio “certainly”, mettere in dubbio “to call into question”, fuori dubbio “beyond doubt” and il beneficio del dubbio.^[9][12][2] Dictionaries such as GRADIT, Nocentini and Treccani give the noun and the adjective separate numbered headwords, but both come from the same Latin adjective.^[9][6][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1398
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
12. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
13. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli