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londinese

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word londinese

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1860 More words from the 19th century
Borrowed from
Latin Londiniensis
Ultimate origin
Latin Londinium

Pronunciation

  • /lon.diˈne.ze/, /lon.diˈne.se/[1]

Forms

londinese m or f by sense (plural londinesi)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word: it is borrowed from Medieval Latin Londiniēnsis, from Latin Londīnium, the Latin name of Londra.[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary and Zingarelli give the Latin adjective without a medieval label, Wiktionary in the form Londīnēnsis with the suffix -ensis, which corresponds to Italian -ese.[1][6] It matches Spanish londinense.[1]

The Latin name is found in Tacitus.[2] DELI and Zingarelli trace it to a Celtic root Proto-Celtic *londo- (“wild, bold”), which Zingarelli says became the name of a tribe living there.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The dictionaries date the word to 1860, for something of or from London.[3][7][6] DELI's first example is from Carducci in 1868, as adjective and noun.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Carducci wrote of poems “of London origin”, and later writers spoke of a London tailor and of London stationers' shops.[8] The noun names a Londoner.[3][7] DELI points to the phrase fumo di Londra under fumo.[2]

Timeline

  • 1860 – The word is first recorded.[3][7][6]
  • 1868 – Carducci uses it.[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to London (Londra): Ha comprato un ombrello in un negozio londinese.[3][7][9][1]

Noun

  1. Londoner: a native or inhabitant of London.[3][7][9][1]
  • Londra
  • -ese
  • Spanish londinense

Usage notes

The s is pronounced either voiced or voiceless.[1][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  4. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  5. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  6. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  8. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 9, 206
  9. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Londinese.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/londinese. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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