figlio

Forms

figlio m (plural figli, feminine figlia, diminutive figliétto, pejorative figliàccio)^[1] Old forms include fi, fio, filio, fillo and figliu.^[2] Dante uses the shortened fi’.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin fīlius (“son”).^[5][6][7][1] DÉRom reconstructs Proto-Romance */ˈɸili-u/, found in every Romance language;^[8] French and Franco-Provençal continue the nominative */ˈɸili-u-s/.^[8] It is panromance: French fils, Occitan filh, Catalan fill, Spanish hijo, Portuguese filho, Sardinian fizu and Romanian fiu.^[6][9] The Latin cluster /lj/ became the palatal /ʎ/ of Tuscan, written ⟨gli⟩.^[3]

The Latin word goes back to Proto-Italic *fīlio-, and further to an adjective Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁i-l- (“suckling”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suck”).^[10][1] The same root is in fēmina (“woman”), fēcundus (“fertile”) and fellō (“to suck”), and an Umbrian word for a suckling animal shows the old meaning.^[10][6][11] Devoto points out that the Latin word displaced the inherited words for “son” and “daughter” that survive in Ancient Greek υἱός (huiós), θυγάτηρ (thugátēr), German Sohn and Tochter.^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

The plural fili is in a text of the end of the 11th century, and the TLIO's first record is a Pisan document of the first half of the 12th century, in the sense “male child, in relation to the parents”.^[5][7][2] The form figlio is in Jacopone da Todi, before 1306.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used the word in the plural for children of both sexes, before a father's name to identify someone, for Christ, for the young of animals, and figuratively for a member of a people or a religious community; it was also an affectionate way of addressing a younger person, and figlio del diavolo was a common insult.^[2] Latin had already given it a wider legal sense, “descendant”, and an affective and spiritual one in the language of the Church.^[13]

The diminutive figliolo, from Latin filiolus, is recorded at the end of the 12th century;^[5][14] Tommaseo noted that Tuscans almost always said figliuolo in speech.^[5][14] Other derivatives are old too: figliastro “stepson” in 1211, figliare “to give birth (of animals)” in 1291 and figlioccio “godson” in Boccaccio, after Medieval Latin filiocius.^[5]

Many phrases are built on the word: figlio di papà for a young man helped by his father's money and position, figlio d'arte for someone in the parents' profession, figlio dei fiori for a hippie, and figlio della serva for someone nobody takes into account, which DELI compares with Milanese fioeu de la serva.^[15][5][16]

Timeline

• Late 11th century – The plural fili is recorded.^[5][7]
• First half of the 12th century – The word appears in a Pisan document.^[2]
• Late 12th century – The diminutive filiolo is recorded.^[5]
• 1211 – Figliastro is recorded in a Florentine account book.^[5]
• Before 1306 – Jacopone da Todi uses the form figlio.^[5]
• 1353 – Boccaccio uses figlioccio.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. son: a male person in relation to his parents.^[7][15][4]
2. (usually plural) child, children of either sex: hanno tre figli.^[7][1][3]
3. (religion) il Figlio, the second person of the Trinity, Christ.^[7][4]
4. Affectionate or patronising form of address to a young person: su con la vita, figlio mio.^[7][17]
5. Young of an animal.^[7][4]
6. Person seen in relation to his origins: un figlio del popolo.^[7][15]
7. (figurative) Product, result: è figlio del suo tempo, quella decisione fu figlia della paura.^[7][3]
8. (plural) Name of some religious congregations.^[7][3]
9. (physics) Intermediate member of a radioactive series.^[7]

Word family

• figlia
• figliolo
• figlioletto
• figliastro
• figlioccio
• figliare
• figliata
• figliolanza

Related words

• affiliare
• filiale
• filiazione
• femmina
• fecondo
• Latin filius
• French fils

Usage notes

Insults built on the word include figlio di buona donna and figlio d'un cane; in a joking tone they can also express grudging admiration.^[4][17] Salute e figli maschi is an old formula of good wishes.^[17]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
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 Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
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. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
12. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 183
13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
14. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
15. ^ 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
16. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5, 964
17. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana