Etymologically
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indossare

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Pronunciation

  • /in.dosˈsa.re/[1]

Forms

indossare (first-person singular present indòsso, first-person singular past historic indossài, past participle indossàto, auxiliary avére)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian indosso + -are, from the adverb indosso (“on, on one's body”).[2][3][4][5][1] “Indosso” is a compound of in “on” and dosso (“back”), and “dosso” comes from Vulgar Latin *dossum, an assimilated form of Latin dorsum (“back”).[2][3] The learned dorso is its doublet.[1]

The commercial sense “to endorse (a bill)”, from writing one's name on its back, is modelled on French endosser (12th century), whose commercial use comes from endos (16th century).[6] Italian “indossare” in this sense is recorded before 1794, and German indossieren (1835) was borrowed from it.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Alessandro Braccesi, who died in 1503, in the sense “put on (clothes)”: “a qual fine ho io indossato così rusticano vestimento” (for what purpose I have put on such rustic clothing).[2][8][9]

Semantic evolution

The verb was used chiefly of garments that also cover the shoulders.[8] Purists objected to it: in 1831 Lissoni wrote that indossarsi and indossare were not approved verbs.[2] In the first edition of I promessi sposi (1827) Manzoni wrote “sopra l'abito indossò una sua casacca” (over his clothes he put on a jacket of his), and in the revised edition he replaced the verb.[8]

In the 20th century the fashion trade formed indossatrice “fashion model” (1936), which replaced French mannequin for the person, and indossatore, the male model (1963) and a clothes stand (1973).[2] Indossare i panni di qualcuno means figuratively to take on someone's role.[10][4]

Timeline

  • Before 1503 – Alessandro Braccesi uses indossare.[2]
  • Before 1794 – The commercial sense “endorse” is recorded.[7]
  • 1827 – Manzoni uses indossò in the first edition of I promessi sposi.[8]
  • 1831 – Lissoni rejects the verb as not approved.[2]
  • 1835 – German indossieren “endorse” is recorded.[7]
  • 1936 – Indossatrice “fashion model” appears.[2]
  • 1963 – Indossatore “male model” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To put on a garment: Indossò la giacca e uscì di corsa.[4][5][11][1]
  2. To wear, have on: La ragazza indossava un vestito rosso.[4][5][11][1]
  3. (figurative) indossare i panni di qualcuno, to take on someone's role.[10][4]
  4. (uncommon, commerce) To endorse a bill; to transfer by endorsement.[4][7]

Word family

  • indossatore
  • indossatrice

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2007
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c d 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 Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse