lodare

Forms

lodare (first-person singular present lòdo, first-person singular past historic lodài, past participle lodàto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin laudāre (“to praise, commend”), a verb formed from laus (“praise”) (genitive laudis), the source of lode.^[2][3][4][5] Nocentini gives the original sense of the Latin verb as “to name”.^[3] The ⟨au⟩ became ⟨o⟩ in the popular word, while the older form laudare is a learned doublet;^[5][1][6] Battaglia's dictionary calls the word semi-learned.^[5][1][6]

The verb is panromance: French louer, Occitan lauzar, Catalan lloar, Spanish loar, Portuguese louvar and Romanian lăuda.^[3][7] The DÉRom reconstructs a Proto-Romance verb with cognates in every branch except Sardinian and Dalmatian.^[8]

The origin of laus is unclear; de Vaan reports that the only comparison put forward is with a Germanic word for “song”, which would require an older diphthong ⟨ou⟩.^[9] Zingarelli calls it of uncertain origin.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Francis of Assisi, about 1224, in the form laudare and with the sense “to praise God with prayer and reverence”.^[2][11] The form lodare in the sense “to praise with words of approval” appears before 1294 in Brunetto Latini's Rettorica: per potere più di sicuro lodare e difendere (“so as to praise and defend more safely”).^[2][6] Dante uses lodare in the religious sense in 1300–1313.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to approve”, recorded in the 14th century, goes back to Latin: Augustine pairs Latin laudare with approbare, and Lausberg linked it with praise as a recommended course in the art of persuasion.^[2] The reflexive lodarsi “to praise oneself, boast” is recorded in the 14th-century Italian Cato.^[2] Old and poetic Italian also used lodare for “to advise” (Tasso), and Sercambi for “to order, prescribe”.^[10][12]

In old legal language lodare meant to give an arbitration award, from Medieval Latin laudare “to approve”, whose noun laudum gave lodo “arbitration award”;^[6][3] Machiavelli and Varchi use it.^[6][3] Religious formulas remain common: sia lodato Gesù Cristo, answered by sempre sia lodato, and sia lodato il cielo! for relief.^[11][10] The proverb chi si loda s'imbroda “he who praises himself soils himself” warns against boasting.^[10][13][4]

Timeline

• About 1224 – Francis of Assisi uses laudare for praising God.^[2]
• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses lodare “to praise”.^[2]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses lodare in the religious sense.^[2]
• 14th century – Lodare “to approve” and reflexive lodarsi are recorded.^[2]
• Before 1347 – Lodatore “praiser, flatterer” is recorded.^[2]
• 1560 – Lodativo “laudatory” appears in Lodovico Castelvetro.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To praise, to express approval of someone or something: lodare un alunno per la sua costanza.^[11][4][5]
2. (religion) To praise and glorify God or the saints with prayer and song.^[11][4][5]
3. To celebrate, to extol, as in poetry; also, to flatter: lodare i potenti.^[11][4][13]
4. (reflexive, lodarsi) To praise oneself, to boast.^[4][5][10]
5. (pronominal, lodarsi di, literary) To be pleased with someone or something and speak well of it.^[4][5][10]

Word family

• lodevole
• lodatore
• lodativo
• lodabile
• lodato
• lodo
• stralodare

Related words

• lode
• laudare
• lauda
• Latin laus
• French louer

Usage notes

Sia lodato Gesù Cristo is a Christian greeting, used especially among religious, with the reply sempre sia lodato;^[11][10][13] sia lodato il cielo! and Dio sia lodato! express relief.^[11][10][13] In the negative non posso lodarti expresses disapproval.^[4][13]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ a b c d e f g h Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
12. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2260
13. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)