ladrone

Forms

ladrone m (plural ladroni, feminine ladrona)^[1] Old Italian forms include latrone, Old Italian larone, Old Italian laron and Old Italian lairon.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin latrō (“mercenary; bandit”), from its accusative, while its doublet ladro continues the nominative.^[1][4][5] The /t/ became /d/, as in the northern dialects, and Sabatini–Coletti and DEI take the form to have spread from the north.^[6][7] Zingarelli and the GDLI call it a learned word, but the old forms larone and laron show popular development.^[8][9][3]

The Latin word first meant a mercenary soldier, then a brigand and thief.^[8][10][6] The same word is French larron, recorded from the 11th century.^[9] The origin of latrō is disputed: it is often compared with Ancient Greek λάτρις (látris, “hired servant”) and traced to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning “to grant, possess”, but Beekes rejects this and takes the Latin word as a loan from an unattested Greek form.^[1] DEI explains it as adapted from Greek and remade after Latin praedō (“robber”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Libro of Uguccione da Lodi, of the early 13th century, from the area of Cremona.^[2] DELI dates the plural latrone to 1242–1243 in Guido Faba, larone to before 1249 in Pier della Vigna and ladrone to 1268 in Andrea da Grosseto, in the senses “hardened thief” and “highwayman”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the word named any robber or violent criminal, the two thieves crucified with Christ, a pirate, and figuratively a usurper or an unbeliever.^[2] Dante writes of the thieves in Hell (Tra gli ladron trovai cinque cotali, “among the thieves I found five such”), and Petrarch of churches that had become quasi spelunca di ladron, “almost a den of thieves”.^[11] Landino drew the distinction that a ladrone steals by force and a furo by deceit.^[9]

Today the word refers chiefly to the bandits of the past and the two thieves of the Gospels, the buon ladrone and the cattivo ladrone; in everyday use it is felt as an augmentative of ladro.^[4][12][6] The aceto dei quattro ladroni was an old remedy against the plague, said to have been made known by robbers who stripped its victims.^[12][13]

Timeline

• Early 13th century – Uguccione da Lodi uses the word.^[2]
• 1242–1243 – Guido Faba has the plural latrone.^[3][4]
• Before 1249 – Pier della Vigna writes larone.^[3]
• 1268 – Andrea da Grosseto has ladrone.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (historical) A brigand, highwayman: a robber who attacked travellers.^[4][13][14]
2. i due ladroni: the two thieves crucified beside Jesus;^[4][13][12] il buon ladrone, the penitent thief, and il cattivo ladrone, the impenitent one.^[4][13][12]
3. (colloquial) A thief, swindler, someone who profits dishonestly from his position: Quel notaio è un ladrone.^[4][13][8]
4. (literary) An invader, usurper.^[4][2]

Word family

• ladroncello
• ladroneria
• ladronesco
• ladronaglia
• ladronaia
• ladronata
• ladroneggiare

Related words

• ladro
• Latin latrō
• French larron

Usage notes

The feminine is ladrona.^[1][13] Essere come Cristo fra i due ladroni means to be surrounded by wicked, untrustworthy people.^[13]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e f 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 g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
6. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2150
8. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 8, 688
10. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
11. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ 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
14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana