lodevole

Forms

lodevole m or f by sense (plural lodevoli, superlative lodevolissimo)^[1] The older form Old Italian laudevole is found in Boccaccio and earlier writers.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin laudābilis (“praiseworthy”), with its ending replaced by the popular suffix -evole.^{[4][5][3][6][1]} Treccani, Devoto–Oli and the GDLI treat it instead as an Italian derivative of lodare, and Wiktionary notes that it can be analysed so.^[7][8][9][1] The learned doublet is lodabile.^[1][3]

The Latin adjective is formed from laudō (“to praise”) with -bilis, and the verb from laus (“praise”).^[1][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Zingarelli dates the word to 1268.^[5] DELI takes its first secure record from Boccaccio in 1341–1342, with the sense “deserving praise”: an example attributed to Giordano da Pisa (before 1311) is one of Redi's forgeries, though laudevole is found before Boccaccio.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word meant “worthy of praise”, said of people and of actions.^[2][9] The Treccani separates it from lodabile: lodevole expresses full approval, which need not be put into words, while lodabile rather suggests that praise ought to be spoken.^[7]

In Italian primary schools, when marks were given as verbal judgements, lodevole was the highest of them, a use now gone.^[4][8][3][7] In the Canton of Ticino it is a usual title of public bodies.^[7]

Timeline

• 1268 – Date given by the Zingarelli.^[5]
• 1341–1342 – Boccaccio uses lodevole.^[2][4]
• 20th century – Lodevole is the top judgement in Italian primary schools (no longer in use).^[4][3][7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Deserving praise, praiseworthy, commendable: un gesto lodevole.^[4][8][3][5]
2. (education, dated) Of a piece of school work, done excellently; also a noun, the highest mark in the old primary-school scale.^[4][8][5]

Word family

• lodevolmente
• lodevolezza

Related words

• lodare
• lode
• lodabile
• Latin laudabilis

Usage notes

In Ticino lodevole is placed before the names of public bodies as a title, for example before Municipio or Consiglio di Stato.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
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 d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2260
7. ^ a b c d e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
8. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
10. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier