Etymologically
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governo

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Pronunciation

  • /ɡoˈvɛr.no/[1]

Forms

governo m (plural governi)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin gubernum (“steering oar, rudder”), from gubernō (“to steer; to govern”).[2][3][4][5][6] The Latin verb was borrowed from Ancient Greek κυβερνάω (kubernáō, “to steer”), a word of obscure origin that is also behind cibernetica.[7][3][1] In Latin both words had already widened their senses from the ship to direction in general.[7]

Several sources see the Italian noun as partly a back-formation from governare: Devoto speaks of a crossing with the verb, Treccani derives some senses from it, and DEI thinks that the senses “rudder” and “manure” are most likely deverbal.[8][9][10] Wiktionary leaves both explanations open.[1] The Latin noun survives as Old French gouver (“rudder”) and Old Occitan govern.[11][10] The verb has spread widely: French gouverner, the source of English govern, Spanish gobernar and Portuguese governar.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Milanese poems of Bonvesin de la Riva, of the 13th century; its first sense is the rudder of a boat, also used figuratively.[6] DELI's earliest sense is direction or command, in the Fatti di Cesare of the 13th century.[7]

Semantic evolution

Dante still used governo for the rudder: in the Vita nuova he calls himself a vessel “without sail and without rudder” (legno sanza vela e sanza governo), and in Inferno 8 a little boat comes sotto il governo d'un sol galeoto, “steered by a single oarsman”.[12][13] The act of governing is in the Italian Livy and the care of people and things in the Italian Bible, both of the 14th century.[7]

The political senses grew from the 15th century: the organ that directs the state in Lorenzo Morelli and the form of rule in Francesco Guicciardini, before 1540.[7] From the 16th century the word also meant the feeding of animals and the manuring of land.[10][9] The cry piove, governo ladro! (“it's raining, thieving government!”) goes back to an 1861 cartoon in Il Pasquino, where three Mazzinians shelter from the rain that spoiled their demonstration in Turin.[7]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Bonvesin de la Riva uses governo.[6]
  • 13th century – The Fatti di Cesare use it for direction and command.[7]
  • Before 1321 – Dante uses it for a ship's rudder.[12]
  • 15th century – Lorenzo Morelli uses it for the organ that governs a state.[7]
  • Before 1540 – Francesco Guicciardini uses it for a form of rule.[7]
  • 1861 – A cartoon in Il Pasquino launches governo ladro.[7]
  • 1965 – Governo di coalizione is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The government: the body that holds executive power and directs the policy of a state; in Italy the prime minister and the ministers: Il governo ha presentato la legge di bilancio.[2][14][4]
  2. The governing of a state, political rule and administration: un partito al governo.[2][4][9]
  3. The form of rule of a state: governo repubblicano, governo monarchico.[2][15][4]
  4. The management of a firm, a household or a family.[2][14][16]
  5. The steering of a ship, and by extension of an aircraft or vehicle: perdere il governo della barca.[2][4][15]
  6. The care and feeding of animals, especially livestock.[2][9][1]
  7. (agriculture) The manuring of soil; the manure itself.[9]
  8. (obsolete) A rudder.[15][9][6]

Word family

  • sottogoverno
  • governicchio
  • governissimo
  • governabile
  • governare
  • governatore
  • governatura
  • governante
  • Latin gubernum

Usage notes

Donna di governo was an old name for a housekeeper.[14] Governo fantoccio copies English puppet government, and governo ombra the shadow cabinet.[14][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  10. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1850
  11. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  12. ^ 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, 997
  13. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  14. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  15. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  16. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli