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importante

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word importante

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1482–1484, Lorenzo de' Medici
Ultimate origin
Latin portō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin importo
English import
Italian importare
French importer
Italian importante
French important
From the same root
Italian importanza ← importare

Pronunciation

  • /im.porˈtan.te/[1]

Forms

importante m or f by sense (plural importanti, superlative importantissimo)[1]

Etymology

It is the present participle of importare “to matter”, used as an adjective: from Italian importare + -ante.[2][3][4][1] The verb is borrowed from Latin importō (“to bring in; to bring about”), formed from in- (“in”) and portō (“to carry”).[2][3] Nocentini explains that the Latin sense “to bring about, cause” moved to “to involve, concern”, and so to “to matter”.[3]

DELI, following Migliorini, regards the use of the adjective for a person or thing of consequence as an 18th-century Gallicism.[2] French important had itself been borrowed from Italian in the 15th and 16th centuries.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO has a plural importanti in the Florentine translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi (14th century).[6] DELI's first record is in Lorenzo de' Medici (1482–1484), in the sense “of great interest or weight”.[2] GDLI quotes him: “Forse saranno ancora scritte in questa lingua cose sottile ed importanti e degne d'essere lette” (perhaps subtle and important things, worthy of being read, will yet be written in this language).[7]

Semantic evolution

The noun l'importante “the main point” is recorded before 1535 in Francesco Berni.[2] The adjective is used of influential people and cities from 1602 (Cesare Campana), and of what gives social prestige from 1887.[2] Modern Italian also uses it for what is formal and elegant, such as a dinner or a dress, and, as a euphemism, for something large or noticeable, such as a nose.[8][4][9] French borrowed the noun l'important in 1630.[5]

Timeline

  • 14th century – The plural importanti appears in the Florentine Crescenzi.[6]
  • 1482–1484 – Lorenzo de' Medici uses importante “of great weight”.[2]
  • Before 1535 – Francesco Berni uses l'importante “the main point”.[2]
  • 1602 – Cesare Campana uses the word of influential people and cities.[2]
  • 1630 – French borrows the noun l'important.[5]
  • 1887 – The sense “socially prestigious” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. important, of great interest or consequence: È importante leggere bene il contratto.[8][4][9]
  2. Of a person, influential, having authority or fame.[8][4][9]
  3. Formal and elegant: un pranzo di nozze importante.[8][4][10]
  4. (euphemistic) Large, noticeable: Ha un naso piuttosto importante..[8][4][11]

Noun

  1. (singular only, with the article) The main thing, what matters most: L'importante è non perdere la calma.[8][4][11]
  2. fare l'importante, to give oneself airs.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  6. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  7. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 7, 495
  8. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  10. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli

Borrowed into

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Importante.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/importante. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·