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fido

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Italian has two words spelled fido: the adjective “faithful”, a learned word from Latin, and the banking noun “credit”, formed in the 18th century from fidare.[1][2][3] DELI treats them under one head;[4][1][2][5] GRADIT, Nocentini and DEI number them 1 and 2.[4][1][2][5]

fido1 faithful

Pronunciation

Forms

fido (feminine fida, masculine plural fidi, feminine plural fide)[6]

Etymology

The adjective is a learned word, borrowed from Latin fīdus (“trusty, faithful”), from fīdō (“to trust”).[4][2][1][6] The Latin word continues Proto-Italic *feiþos and Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰós, from the root *bʰeydʰ- (“to trust”) of Ancient Greek πείθομαι (peíthomai, “to be persuaded, obey”); fidēs (“faith”) and foedus (“treaty”) are related.[7][6] Inherited reflexes are Old French fi and Old Occitan fi, while Spanish fido and Portuguese fido are learned like the Italian word.[2][8][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a Pisan translation of Albertano da Brescia's treatises (1287–88); DELI dates it to Dante, who calls Virgil la fida compagna (the faithful companion) in Purgatorio III.[9][4][10]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used it of people bound by loyalty, of things that can be relied on, and of safe, sheltering places; as a plural noun i fidi were one's faithful followers.[9] Tommaseo distinguished it from fidato and fedele as implying lasting, active affection.[11] Today it is literary or elevated, and is also used of a trusty object, such as one's old car.[3][12][1]

Timeline

  • 1287–1288 – A Pisan translation of Albertano da Brescia has fido.[9]
  • Before 1321 – Dante uses fida of Virgil.[4][10]
  • Early 15th century – Infido “unfaithful” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (literary) faithful, loyal: il suo fido scudiero.[1][3][13][6]
  2. Of a thing, reliable, trusty: la mia fida bicicletta.[1][3][14]

Noun

  1. (literary) A faithful companion or follower: il capo e i suoi fidi.[1][13][12]

Word family

  • infido

fido2 credit

Pronunciation

Forms

fido m (plural fidi)[6]

Etymology

The noun is formed from fidare “to trust”, as a deverbal noun without suffix, like fida (1492), a southern contract for renting grazing land.[4][2][1][6] The verb continues Vulgar Latin *fīdāre, the Vulgar Latin replacement of Latin fīdere.[4][15]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is a Tuscan tariff of 1781, in the sense of commercial credit, the limit up to which goods or money are given on trust.[4][1]

Semantic evolution

Tommaseo records the phrase dare a fido, to sell on credit, and in shops non si fa fido.[11] Carlo Cattaneo explained that credit comes from trusting, and that this fido is either personal or real.[10] In modern banking it is the credit line a bank grants a customer, backed by personal or real guarantees.[1][3]

Timeline

  • 1492 – Fida, a contract for grazing land, is recorded in the Aragonese code.[4]
  • 1781 – A Tuscan tariff has fido “credit”.[4][1]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (banking) A credit line granted by a bank to a customer, and the maximum amount of it: La banca gli ha negato l'aumento del fido.[1][3][13][6]
  2. Commercial credit, dare a fido, to sell on trust.[12][11][14]

Usage notes

Fido is also the traditional name for a dog, like English Rover.[3][13][16] Limite di fido or fido massimo is the most a bank will lend a customer.[3][14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 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
  5. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1634
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  10. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  11. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  12. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  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 Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  15. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  16. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org