importanza

Forms

importanza f (plural importanze)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian importanzia and, in Pisa, inportansa.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Italian importare + -anza, from the verb in its sense “to matter, to be of consequence”.^[4][5][3][6] Wiktionary instead derives it from Medieval Latin importantia.^[1]

The verb is a learned borrowing of Latin importō (“to bring in; to bring about, to cause”), from in- (“in”) and portō (“to carry”).^[7][6] Nocentini explains that the sense “to bring about” passed in Italian to “to concern, to interest”, and, from it came importante and the noun itself.^[6] The sense “to bring goods into a country” is a much later loan from French importer, which took it from English.^[7][8]

DIFIT lists French importance, recorded from 1361, beside the Italian noun, and German Importanz came in turn from French.^[9] DEI places the French noun in the 14th century.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Domenico Cavalca's Specchio di croce, written in Pisa before 1342, in the sense “the quality of what deserves attention because of its nature or consequences”.^[2] DELI's first records are in Rinaldo degli Albizzi and Luigi Pulci in the 15th century;^[7][10] Pulci asks Che lettera o imbasciata hai d'importanza?, “What letter or message of importance have you?”^[7][10]

Semantic evolution

From the 16th century the noun also meant a matter of great weight, an affair (before 1533), and the authority or standing of a person (before 1543).^[9] DELI records the sense “value, credit, regard” in Ramusio, who died in 1557.^[7] Cellini used it for the most valuable part of a work, and importanza was also once the amount of a sum, a sense later taken by importo.^[11][8][4]

The phrase darsi importanza, to put on airs, is recorded by Tommaseo in 1869, and the Milanese dass de l'importanza by Cherubini in 1840.^[7]

Timeline

• Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses importanza.^[2]
• 15th century – Rinaldo degli Albizzi and Luigi Pulci use the word.^[7][10]
• Before 1533 – It is used for an affair of great weight.^[9]
• Before 1543 – It is used for a person's authority and prestige.^[9]
• Before 1557 – Ramusio uses it for “value, regard”.^[7]
• 1840 – Milanese dass de l'importanza is recorded.^[7]
• 1869 – Darsi importanza appears in Tommaseo's dictionary.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. importance, significance, weight: Questa lettera ha un valore enorme per la storia della città, ma pochi ne capiscono l'importanza.^[4][3][5][1]
2. The influence, prestige or authority of a person: Con gli anni ha acquistato importanza nel partito.^[4][5][12]
3. (obsolete) The amount of a sum.^[4][11][13]

Related words

• importare
• importante
• Medieval Latin importantia
• French importance

Usage notes

Darsi importanza means to put on airs, to act important.^[11][12][13] Non ha importanza is the usual way to say “it doesn't matter”, and d'importanza means “important”.^[12][13]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1965
9. ^ a b c d Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
10. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
11. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
13. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli