Etymologically
Log in

fresco

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Italian word fresco

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Inherited
First attested
late 12th century, Ritmo laurenziano
Inherited from
Latin *friscus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic *friskaz

Pronunciation

Forms

fresco (feminine fresca, masculine plural freschi, feminine plural fresche, superlative freschissimo)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *friscus (“fresh”), from Proto-Germanic *friskaz (“fresh”).[1][2] The sources agree on the Germanic origin but differ on how the word came in: DELI holds that, because it is found in all the western Romance languages, including Sardinian, it entered spoken Latin early;[2] Nocentini treats it as a medieval loan from West Germanic,[3] Devoto–Oli from Lombardic and Sabatini–Coletti and GRADIT from Frankish.[4][5][6]

The same word is French frais, Occitan fresc, Catalan fresc, Spanish fresco, Portuguese fresco, Romansh fraisk and Friulian fresk,[7][3] as well as Sardinian friscu.[8] In the Germanic languages it is Old High German frisc, German frisch and English fresh.[3][9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's and DELI's first record is in the Ritmo laurenziano of the late 12th century, from Tuscany, in the sense “blooming, flourishing”.[11][2] The sense “recently made” is in Dante (before 1321) and the sense of temperature, “pleasantly cool”, in Andrea Lancia's or Arrigo Simintendi's translation of Ovid (before 1333).[2]

Semantic evolution

Petrarch's line “Chiare, fresche e dolci acque” (clear, fresh and sweet waters) is the most famous early use of the temperature sense.[9] As a noun, “coolness”, it is recorded at the end of the 14th century,[2] and the painters' phrase in fresco or a fresco, painting on plaster that is still wet, is in Cennino Cennini.[9][12] From that phrase came affresco (1809) and affrescare.[3]

DELI explains mettere al fresco, to put in prison, probably from the cold and damp of prisons, and suggests that stare fresco, to be in trouble, began as a joking use of Dante's line on the traitors frozen in the ice of Cocytus, “Là dove i peccatori stanno freschi”.[2][13] In the 20th century fresco also became the name of a light wool cloth for summer suits (1931).[2][12] In Venice i freschi were the parades of decorated gondolas along the Grand Canal on feast days.[9]

French borrowed the painting sense as French fresque (1669, Molière), after the earlier peindre au frais (1611).[8][12] English has fresco from the 1590s, first in the phrase in fresco.[10][12]

Timeline

  • Late 12th century – Fresco “flourishing” appears in the Ritmo laurenziano.[11][2]
  • Before 1257 – Frescura “cool air” is recorded in Bonagiunta.[2]
  • Before 1292 – Freschezza is recorded in Bono Giamboni.[2]
  • Before 1321 – Dante uses fresco for “recent”.[2]
  • Before 1333 – The sense “pleasantly cool” is recorded.[2]
  • Late 14th century – The noun “coolness” is recorded.[2]
  • 1598 – English frisco “fresco painting” is first recorded.[12]
  • 1669 – French fresque appears in Molière.[8]
  • 1809 – Affresco is recorded.[3]
  • 1931 – Fresco names a light summer cloth.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. cool, pleasantly cold: Bevo un po' d'acqua fresca.[6][4][5]
  2. Of a place, cool and shady: La cantina è il posto più fresco della casa.[6][4]
  3. Of the body, not hot with fever: Il bambino ora ha la fronte fresca.[6][4]
  4. fresh, of food: recently made, picked or caught, not preserved: pane fresco, pesce fresco.[6][4][5]
  5. Of paint or plaster, still wet: Attenzione, vernice fresca![6][13]
  6. Recent, new: Ho notizie freschissime., fresco di stampa, just published.[6][5]
  7. (figurative) Youthful, healthy, blooming; rested and ready: viso fresco, truppe fresche.[5][14]
  8. (figurative) Lively, spontaneous, of a style or voice.[5]

Noun

  1. coolness, a pleasantly cool temperature: Di sera qui fa fresco anche d'estate.[5][15][1]
  2. A cool place: tenere al fresco, to keep in a cool place, (colloquial) al fresco, in prison.[5][2][1]
  3. A light wool cloth for summer clothes.[2][1][12]
  4. (archaic) A fresco painting, an affresco.[4][5]

Word family

  • freschezza
  • frescura
  • affresco
  • affrescare
  • rinfrescare
  • rinfresco
  • rinfrescata
  • raffrescare
  • frescamente
  • freschista

Usage notes

Stare fresco is ironic: to be in trouble, or to wait in vain.[13][14][16] Di fresco means recently.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1716
  9. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  11. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  12. ^ a b c d e f Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  13. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  14. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  15. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  16. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana

Related etymologies

  • bianco · also from Proto-Germanic
  • rubare · also from Proto-Germanic
  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Fresco.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/fresco. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·