Etymologically
Log in

gioia

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 20:29. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Italian has two nouns spelled gioia: one means “joy” and comes from French, the other means “jewel” and is probably taken from gioiello.[1][2][3]

gioia1 joy

Pronunciation

  • /ˈd͡ʒɔ.ja/[4]

Forms

gioia f (plural gioie)[4]

Etymology

The noun meaning “joy” is borrowed from Old French joie (1080), from Late Latin gaudia, the plural of Latin gaudium (“joy, delight”).[1][3][2][4] DELI notes that the plural was already more frequent than the singular in Plautus and later, partly for metrical reasons, prevailed entirely; taken as a feminine singular, it gave the French word.[1][5] The Provençal lyric passed on its masculine Old Occitan joi, much used by the Sicilian poets, and the TLIO derives the masculine Old Italian gioi from it.[1][6] The inherited outcomes of the Latin word are northern dialect forms such as Piedmontese goi, and Catalan goig.[7] The French word also gave English joy.[3]

The Latin noun comes from gaudeō (“to be glad, to rejoice”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂u- “to rejoice” with a suffix; it is related to Ancient Greek γηθέω (gēthéō, “to rejoice”).[8] The learned doublet is gaudio.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur, of the late 12th century.[6] DELI's first record is the 13th-century poet Rinaldo d'Aquino, for a state of intense gladness; a cortese portamento “courteous bearing” gives him joy and sure confidence.[1][9]

Semantic evolution

Already in the 13th century the word was used for a person or thing that gives joy (Chiaro Davanzati), for the bliss of the saints, and ironically for a worthless rogue.[1][6] Iacopone da Todi took up the troubadours' gioia d'amore in a strictly mystical key.[1] Foscolo's line Gioia promette e manda pianto Amore (“Love promises joy and sends tears”) shows the literary use.[10]

Modern Italian uses it for great gladness and its causes, often ironically (che gioia! of a boring task), and colloquially mai una gioia! “never any luck” is a complaint that one's hopes are always disappointed.[2][10][11]

Timeline

  • 1080 – French joie is first recorded.[1][2]
  • Late 12th century – Gioia appears in the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur.[6]
  • 13th century – Rinaldo d'Aquino uses it for gladness.[1]
  • 13th century – Chiaro Davanzati uses it for a person who gives joy.[1]
  • Before 1249 – Pier della Vigna uses the adjective gioioso.[1]

Meanings

Noun

  1. joy, deep gladness and contentment: Quando ha saputo la notizia è scoppiata a piangere di gioia.[2][10][11]
  2. A person or thing that makes one happy: Quel nipotino è la gioia del nonno.[2][11][12]
  3. (usually plural) A pleasure, a satisfaction: le gioie della vita di campagna.[2][12][13]
  4. (ironic) Annoyance: Che gioia, un'altra riunione![10][11][5]

Word family

  • gioioso
  • gioire

gioia2 jewel

Pronunciation

  • /ˈd͡ʒɔ.ja/[4]

Forms

gioia f (plural gioie)[4]

Etymology

The noun meaning “jewel” is probably extracted from Italian gioiello (“jewel”), with the feminine gender of its synonyms gemma and perla, and with the influence of the word for joy.[1][2][11][12] DELI also allows that it is the same word as the one meaning “joy”.[1] Zingarelli takes it from French, extracted from the Old French word for jewel.[5]

The longer noun is Old French jo(i)el (1175), from Vulgar Latin *iocāle (“thing of play”), from Latin iocus (“jest, game”); the French word was associated with joie.[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Giacomo da Lentini, before 1250: “Ogni gioia ch'è più rara / tenut'è più preziosa” (“Every jewel that is rarer / is held more precious”).[1][6][14]

Semantic evolution

Marco Polo's translator says that coral is held a great jewel in one province, and Castiglione compares a setting that makes a jewel more beautiful to art.[14] As a figure, a gioia is a person or thing much loved, and the word is used affectionately in address: gioia mia.[2][10][12] In artillery a gioia was a metal ring strengthening the muzzle or breech of old guns.[2][10][5]

Timeline

  • 1175 – Old French joel “jewel” is recorded.[1]
  • Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses gioia for a precious stone.[1][6]
  • 1946 – Pisani proposes that the noun is extracted from gioiello.[1]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (usually plural) A jewel, a precious stone or piece of jewellery: Teneva le sue gioie in un cofanetto d'argento.[2][10][11]
  2. (figurative) A much-loved or valued person or thing, also as an affectionate form of address: Vieni, gioia, è pronta la cena![2][10][5]
  3. (historical) A metal ring reinforcing the muzzle or breech of old artillery pieces.[2][10][11]

Word family

  • portagioie

Usage notes

Darsi alla pazza gioia means to throw oneself into merrymaking.[2][10][12] A third, now obsolete gioia was the ordinary ship's compass, named after Flavio Gioia of Amalfi, long said to have invented it;[5][15][16] Zingarelli dates it to 1889.[5][15][16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b c d e f Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  9. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 6, 810
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  14. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 6, 812
  15. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  16. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1812