gonzo

Forms

gonzo (feminine gonza, masculine plural gonzi, feminine plural gonze)^[1]

Etymology

The origin is disputed, and DELI, GRADIT and Devoto–Oli call it unknown or uncertain.^[2][3][4] In the view of Nocentini and the LEI it is from Italian bigonzo, a variant of bigoncio (“tub for grapes”) that dropped its first syllable.^[5][6] The sense would have passed from a round, plump person, like a tub, to a slow and dull one.^[5] The voiced /dz/ continues the voiced consonant of Vulgar Latin *bicongius (“holding two congii”), formed from bis (“twice”) and congius, a liquid measure.^[5][6] The LEI lists Milanese bonsêta, a round and plump child, under the same heading.^[6]

Devoto derived it from Latin (vere)cundius, related to verēcundus (“bashful, shamefaced”), with the loss of the first syllables and northern voicing of /k/ to /ɡ/.^[7][2][1] Prati, following Oudin, thought the first sense was a kind of sail and wide puffed sleeves, which he could not explain.^[2][8] Diez and Körting compared Spanish ganso (“goose; dull”).^[9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The LEI's first record is Berni in 1518, for a simpleton.^[6] In 1545 the word appears as thieves' cant for a peasant or bumpkin, in the Nuovo modo de intendere la lingua zerga.^[2][6][11]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century gonzo was both a scornful word for a peasant and a word for a credulous fool, used by Bandello (1554) and Varchi (about 1565).^[2][6] Phrases followed: fare il gonzo “to act the fool, play dumb” (from 1585), and Guerrazzi's gettare polvere da gonzi negli occhi “to throw dust in someone's eyes”.^[6] Magalotti applied it to unconvincing talk or a discipline without scientific worth, and Baretti has the adverb gonzamente.^[6][12]

French gonze “beggar” (1684), later “fellow”, and its feminine gonzesse “woman” (1811) come from the Italian word.^[11][1] English gonzo appeared in 1971 in Hunter S. Thompson's gonzo journalism;^[10][11] Etymonline thinks it probably comes from the Italian word.^[10][11]

Timeline

• 1518 – Berni uses gonzo for a simpleton.^[6]
• 1545 – It is recorded in thieves' cant for a peasant.^[2][6]
• 1554 – Bandello uses it.^[2][13]
• About 1565 – Varchi uses it as an adjective, “credulous”.^[2][6]
• 1585 – Fare il gonzo appears in Garzoni.^[6]
• 1684 – French gonze “beggar” is recorded.^[11]
• 1971 – English gonzo appears in gonzo journalism.^[10][11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. gullible, easily fooled; foolish: non sono così gonzo da credergli.^[3][14][15]

Noun

1. A simpleton or dupe, a slow person who lets himself be tricked.^[4][16][1]

Word family

• gonzamente

Related words

• bigoncio
• French gonze
• English gonzo

Usage notes

Gonzo is pronounced with a voiced /dz/.^[1][8] Its feminine is gonza.^[4][1] The idiom fare il gonzo means “to play the fool” or “to pretend not to understand”.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
10. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ 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
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
14. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
16. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli