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imbarazzante

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word imbarazzante

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
before 1729, Anton Maria Salvini
Ultimate origin
Portuguese baraço

Pronunciation

  • /im.ba.ratˈt͡san.te/[1]

Forms

imbarazzante m or f by sense (plural imbarazzanti)[1]

Etymology

It is the present participle of imbarazzare (“to hamper; to embarrass”), used as an adjective: from Italian imbarazzare + -ante.[2][3][4][5]

The verb is borrowed from Spanish embarazar (1460), which comes from Portuguese embaraçar (“to tie up, hinder with a cord”), built on baraço (“cord, strap”).[2][3][6] DELI calls the Portuguese noun probably pre-Roman, perhaps Celtic;[2][6] DEI calls it of uncertain origin and compares Medieval Latin bar(r)aza (“snare”) (1136).[2][6] Zaccaria showed that Italian examples begin in the early 16th century, among them a 1507 translation of Columbus that renders the Spanish verb, and become very common in the 17th and 18th centuries;[2][7] French had little influence on Italian in the 16th century, so the source is Spanish.[2][7] French embarrasser also came from Spanish.[3][6] Wiktionary allows that the verb may instead be formed from the noun imbarazzo, itself embarazo.[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Anton Maria Salvini (before 1729), who praises a style “with a majestic neatness, with a comfortable and not imbarazzante bearing”, that is, one that does not hamper.[2][8][9] In 1853 d'Ayala noted that Salvini's sense was not the one then current, “distressing, troubling”.[2]

Semantic evolution

The physical sense “cumbersome, hampering movement” lasted into the 18th century: Spallanzani found Turkish dress among the most imbarazzanti for fighting.[8] The modern sense, “causing embarrassment or awkwardness”, appears with Casti, Cesarotti and Manzoni, who calls a situation in Fermo e Lucia embarrassing enough to explain a bride's sudden disappearance.[8] It also took the meaning “difficult, problematic”, of a judgement or a comparison.[8] Today it is the usual word for a question, a situation or a silence that makes people uncomfortable.[10][4][11]

Timeline

  • 1460 – Spanish embarazar is first recorded.[2]
  • 1507 – Italian imbarazzare renders the Spanish verb in a translation of Columbus.[2][7]
  • Before 1729 – Salvini uses imbarazzante “hampering”.[2][8]
  • 1853 – d'Ayala records the sense “distressing, troubling”.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. embarrassing, awkward: making someone feel uncomfortable or ill at ease: Il professore mi ha fatto una domanda imbarazzante davanti a tutti.[10][4][11]
  2. In impersonal use with an infinitive: È imbarazzante ammettere di aver sbagliato.[4][11]
  3. (dated) Cumbersome, hampering movement.[8][9]
  • imbarazzare
  • imbarazzo
  • imbarazzato
  • sbarazzare
  • Spanish embarazar
  • French embarrasser

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1937
  7. ^ a b c Zaccaria, Enrico (1901), L'elemento germanico nella lingua italiana: lessico con appendice e prospetto cronologico, Bologna: Treves
  8. ^ a b c d e f Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ a b De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  11. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Imbarazzante.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/imbarazzante. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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