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grazie

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word grazie

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1495, Domenico Malipiero
Ultimate origin
Latin grātus

Pronunciation

  • /ˈɡrat.t͡sje/[1]

Forms

grazie (interjection; as a noun masculine, invariable: un grazie)[2][1]

Etymology

It is the plural of grazia “favour, gratitude”, used on its own as a formula of thanks.[3][4][2][1] Nocentini explains it as short for rendere grazie “to give thanks”, the Italian form of Latin grātiās agō (“I give thanks”), the formula at the centre of the Eucharist,[4] and GRADIT, Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti also point to the Latin phrase.[2][5][6] Compare Sicilian grazzi and Spanish gracias.[1]

The singular noun is a learned form of Latin grātia (“favour; gratitude; charm”), which the language of the Church spread in the sense “divine favour”.[4][3] The Latin word is a derivative of grātus (“pleasing, welcome”).[3][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI notes that grazie was the usual formula closing the letters and petitions of the Venetians, quoting the chronicler Domenico Malipiero in 1495.[3] Nocentini dates the interjection to 1701,[4] and DELI, GRADIT and Zingarelli give 1801, in Ugo Foscolo, as its first record in literature.[3][2][7]

Semantic evolution

In GDLI's first quotation Foscolo writes “Grazie, celeste creatura, grazie” (thank you, heavenly creature, thank you), and the word is often repeated or strengthened with mille, tante, molte or infinite.[8] By the 19th century it was also used to accept or decline an offer, as in Pirandello's “Grazie, non fumo” (thank you, I don't smoke).[8]

The prepositional phrase grazie a “thanks to” is recorded in Fanfani's Tuscan dictionary in 1863, while grazie a Dio is older.[3] Used ironically, the interjection answers a remark that is too obvious to need saying.[2][5][6] Tommaseo already records the masculine noun un grazie.[9]

Timeline

  • 1495 – Grazie closes Venetian letters and petitions, as Domenico Malipiero shows.[3]
  • 1701 – Nocentini's date for the interjection.[4]
  • 1801 – Ugo Foscolo uses grazie.[3][2]
  • 1863 – Grazie a “thanks to” in Fanfani.[3]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. thank you, thanks: grazie del passaggio!, grazie infinite.[2][5][7]
  2. Used to accept or politely refuse something offered: Un altro po' di torta? – No, grazie, sono pieno.[2][6][10]
  3. (ironic) In reply to something obvious: Ha vinto la gara. – Grazie, si allena ogni giorno![2][5][11]
  4. grazie a: thanks to, owing to: grazie al tuo consiglio ho risparmiato.[5][7][11]

Noun

  1. A thank-you, an expression of gratitude: gli devo un grazie sincero.[2][5][11]

Usage notes

Common phrases are grazie mille, tante grazie, molte grazie and grazie di cuore;[7][2] grazie tante is often ironic.[7][2] Grazie a Dio and grazie al cielo express relief.[5][10] Grazie di and grazie per both introduce what one is thanking for.[11][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  7. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  11. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
Cite this entry

“Grazie.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/grazie. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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