Etymologically
Log in

faccenda

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 04:00. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /fatˈt͡ʃɛn.da/[1]

Forms

faccenda f (plural faccende)[1] Old forms include Old Italian faccienda, Old Italian facenda, Old Italian fachenda and the southern Old Italian facenna.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin facienda (“things to be done”), the neuter plural of faciendus, the gerundive of faciō (“to do, make”).[3][4][5][1] The neuter plural was taken as a feminine singular, as in meraviglia and pecora.[3][4][6] Devoto starts from Vulgar Latin *facjenda.[7]

The double ⟨cc⟩ is explained in two ways: DEI and Prati think the subjunctive faccia of fare influenced the word, and Sabatini–Coletti take it as the normal Tuscan outcome of Latin /kj/.[8][9][10][11] The same Latin word is Old Occitan fazenda, Spanish hacienda and Portuguese fazenda, and the dialects of southern Italy have Sicilian facenna.[4][10][8][1] The Spanish word was borrowed into Italian as azienda, a doublet of this one.[4][8][1]

De Vaan traces the Latin verb to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put”), whose aorist probably had the final /k/ that Italic carried through the whole verb.[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in a Sienese letter of 1260, and DELI dates the word to the sermons of Giordano da Pisa (1303–1306).[2][3][5] The first sense is a thing that has to be done, a task or occupation; the TLIO also finds it for a business deal and an entry in an account.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used faccenda for an event or circumstance and for a difficult situation.[2] Boccaccio, describing the plague in Florence, says people cared for none of their things or faccende.[13][14] The plural for the daily work of a household is recorded from the 14th century, in a translation by Vito da Cortona.[3]

From the 16th century came faccendiere, a busybody and later a wheeler-dealer (1513, Machiavelli), and faccendone, someone who bustles about to little purpose (before 1686).[3][4] Tuscan has the jocular Ser Faccenda for a person who meddles in everything.[8][15] French borrowed the word as faciende in the 16th century, for an occupation and then an intrigue.[16][8] Catalan fatxenda and Spanish fachenda were also taken from Italian.[1]

Timeline

  • 1260 – A Sienese letter has the first record.[2]
  • 1303–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses faccenda in his sermons.[3][5]
  • 14th century – The plural faccende is used for housework.[3]
  • 1513 – Machiavelli has faccendiere.[3][4]
  • 1552 – French faciende “occupation” is first recorded.[16]
  • Before 1686 – Faccendone is recorded.[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Something to be done, a task or errand: Ho ancora due faccende da sbrigare in banca. Essere in faccende: to be busy.[5][6][11]
  2. (plural) The housework, household chores.[5][6][17]
  3. A matter, an affair, often a troublesome or unpleasant one: Questa faccenda non mi convince per niente.[5][6][11]
  4. (chiefly plural) One's private affairs: Pensa alle faccende tue.[6][5]

Word family

  • faccendiere
  • faccendone
  • affaccendarsi
  • affaccendare
  • sfaccendato

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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 j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1578
  9. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 414
  10. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  11. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  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. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  14. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5, 547
  15. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  16. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  17. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli