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mandato

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word mandato

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
before 1348, Giovanni Villani
Borrowed from
Latin mandatum
Ultimate origin
Latin mandō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin mandatum
Italian mandato

Pronunciation

  • /manˈda.to/[1]

Forms

mandato m (plural mandati)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word of the law and administration, borrowed from Latin mandātum (“charge, commission, order”), the neuter past participle of mandō (“to entrust; to order”) used as a noun.[2][3][4] The Latin verb is a compound of manus (“hand”) and -dō (“to put”), so “to put into someone's hand”.[1] The same borrowing is French mandat, recorded in 1488.[4][5] The past participle of mandare, which can also be used as a noun (“envoy”), is the Italian outcome of the same Latin verb.[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DEI dates the sense “order” to the 13th century;[4][8][5] DELI's first dated sense is “authority to do something” in Giovanni Villani before 1348, and Villani also writes that a bishop did not obey the mandati del papa, the pope's orders.[4][8][5]

Semantic evolution

The legal senses followed: a judge's order to bring in or arrest an accused person, which DELI dates to about 1536, a written order of payment (1635, Florence) and the contract by which one person undertakes to act on another's behalf (1673).[8][4] In Old Italian the plural could be the feminine le mandata.[5]

After the First World War mandato named the system by which the League of Nations entrusted former colonies to other states, a usage first recorded in 1923.[8][9] In Italian politics the word is the mandate that voters give their representatives and the President's charge to form a government, as in mandato esplorativo; it also names a term of office.[9][6][10] In church use the mandato was the washing of the feet on Maundy Thursday.[11]

Timeline

  • 13th century – the sense “order” according to DEI.[4]
  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it for “authority”.[8]
  • 1488 – French mandat is first recorded.[4]
  • c. 1536 – a judge's order of arrest is recorded.[8]
  • 1635 – an order of payment, in Florence.[4]
  • 1673 – Giovanni Battista De Luca uses it for the legal contract.[8]
  • 1923 – the international mandates of the League of Nations.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A charge or commission to do something, especially of public interest; a mandate: Il comitato ha ricevuto il mandato di riscrivere lo statuto.[11][9][7]
  2. (politics) The office entrusted to elected representatives, and its term; the charge to form a government: mandato parlamentare, mandato esplorativo.[9][7][10]
  3. (law) A contract by which one party acts on behalf of another.[11][9][7]
  4. (law) A judge's order, a warrant: mandato di arresto, mandato di perquisizione.[11][9][6]
  5. (finance) An order of payment or collection, and the document recording it: mandato di pagamento.[11][7][6]
  6. (history) A territory or the system of international mandates of the League of Nations.[9][7][12]
  7. (dated) An order, a command; a commandment.[6][5]

Word family

  • mandatario
  • mandante

Usage notes

Mandato is also the past participle of mandare “to send”, and as a literary noun “envoy, ambassador”.[6][7] The GDLI records a Tuscan mandato “handful”, a masculine form of manciata.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  3. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2342
  5. ^ 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, p. 9, 627
  6. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  11. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  12. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Mandato.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/mandato. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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