madonna

Forms

madonna f (plural madonne)^[1] The 11th-century form is Old Italian matdonna, and Old Italian shortened the title to monna.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian mia (“my”) + donna (“lady”), with the possessive in its short, unstressed form ⟨ma⟩: “my lady”.^[2][3][5][6] It renders Latin mea (“my”) domina (“mistress, lady”), and is formed like French madame, which Italian borrowed as madama.^[1][7][3] Meyer-Lübke lists the unstressed Old Italian possessive ⟨ma⟩ beside those of the other Romance languages, and gives the word among the compounds of the Latin word for “mistress”.^[8]

For the title of the Virgin, the Italian word stands against French Notre-Dame, and DEI compares Modern Greek δέσποινα (déspoina), literally “lady, mistress”.^[7] DELI points to Jud (1934) on the contrast, and to Gossen (1956) on the interjection.^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest form is matdonna in an Umbrian confession formula of the 11th century, about 1050, where it names Mary, mother of Jesus.^[2][6][4] As a title of respect for a lady of high rank it is in Dante and the Fiore, at the end of the 13th century.^[2][9]

Semantic evolution

In the poets of the 13th and 14th centuries madonna is the beloved lady: Petrarch's Madonna is Laura, and Dante's Vita nova addresses the ladies as Madonne.^[10][11][12] The title, which the GDLI likens to modern signora, was used of married, widowed or older women of rank, as in madonna Ginevra in Boccaccio, and is now ironic or jocular; in fables it precedes the names of female animals, as madonna volpe.^[13][12][11]

The Virgin Mary took the title by antonomasia.^[6][10] Iacopone has madonna for her before 1306.^[2] From her name come the senses “church or sanctuary of the Virgin” (Villani, before 1363) and “picture or statue of the Virgin” (Varchi, before 1565).^[2] DEI, which knew this sense only from Segneri and Salvini, reasoned that it had to be older, since it had passed into English in 1644 and French in 1643.^[7] From 1869 madonna is also a woman of chaste and gentle beauty.^[2]

Popular speech made the name an exclamation of surprise, fear or anger, della madonna an intensifier, avere le madonne “to be in a foul mood”, and madonne in the plural curses; smadonnare, “to swear”, is recorded from 1957.^[10][14][3] madonnina “small image of the Virgin” is from about 1520, and Manzoni's madonnina infilzata (1840–1842) mocks a girl who poses as a model of virtue.^[2]

German has the title from 1483 and English from 1584;^[9][15] French took madone in 1642 for an image of the Virgin, and English used the word for the Virgin and her image from 1644, and in 1823 for a hairstyle with the hair parted in the middle.^[9][15]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – An Umbrian confession formula has matdonna for the Virgin.^[2][6]
• Late 13th century – Dante and the Fiore use it as a title of respect for a lady.^[2]
• Before 1306 – Iacopone has madonna for the Virgin.^[2]
• Before 1363 – Villani uses it for a church of the Virgin.^[2]
• 1483 – German first records Madonna, as a title.^[9]
• c. 1520 – Madonnina “small image of the Virgin” is recorded.^[2]
• Before 1565 – Varchi uses it for a picture of the Virgin.^[2]
• 1584 – English first records Madonna, as a title.^[9]
• 1642 – French madone is recorded for an image of the Virgin.^[9]
• 1840–1842 – Manzoni uses madonnina infilzata.^[2]
• 1869 – Tommaseo–Bellini records the sense “woman of chaste and gentle beauty”.^[2]
• 1957 – Smadonnare “to swear” is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (historical, literary) A title of respect for a woman of high rank, placed before her name: madonna Laura;^{[6][10][4][1]} esser donna e madonna, to be absolute mistress.^{[6][10][4][1]}
2. (literary) The beloved lady of a poet.^[6][4][10]
3. (capitalised) The Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus: Le donne del paese portavano fiori alla Madonna.^{[6][16][4][1]}
4. (usually capitalised) A church or sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin.^[6][16][4]
5. A painting or statue of the Virgin: una Madonna con il Bambino.^[6][16][4]
6. (figurative) A woman of gentle, harmonious beauty; a chaste, virtuous woman: viso di madonna.^[6][4][10]
7. (fables) A title before the name of a female animal: madonna volpe.^[6][11]
8. (popular, chiefly in the plural) A curse, a blasphemy.^[10][14]

Interjection

1. Expressing surprise, fear, anger, impatience or any strong feeling: Madonna, che caldo oggi!^{[10][4][14][1]}

Word family

• madonnina
• madonnaro
• smadonnare
• madonnella
• madonnino

Related words

• donna
• monna
• madama
• Latin domina

Usage notes

Della madonna is a popular intensifier, “tremendous” (una sete della madonna), and avere le madonne means to be in a very bad mood.^[16][10][14] Il mese della Madonna is May, the month dedicated to her.^[16][10] The refe della Madonna is the gossamer of spider threads on bushes, compared by DEI with French fils de la Vierge.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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 i j Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2306
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c d e f Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
12. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
14. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
16. ^ 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