massima

Forms

massima f (plural massime)^[1]

Etymology

The word is learned: it is borrowed from Medieval Latin maxima, short for maxima sententia, properly “the most important opinion”, a statement of general value.^[2][3][4][5] The phrase is the feminine of Latin maximus (“greatest”) with sententia (“opinion, judgement”).^[6][7] The same Latin word gave French maxime, recorded from the 14th century.^[3][6][8] Körting lists Spanish máxima and Portuguese máxima beside it.^[9]

Maximus is the superlative of magnus (“great”), and de Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *magisamo- (“greatest”) beside Proto-Indo-European *mǵ-no- (“great”).^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in F. Buti's commentary on Dante, before 1406: he speaks of proposizioni prime che sono verissime, first propositions that are most true, which the Philosopher (Aristotle) calls massime.^[11][6]

Semantic evolution

The word began as a term of logic for self-evident general propositions: Varchi said that the Florentines commonly called massime what the Greeks called axioms.^[6][12] From the 17th century it meant a precept or saying (Bentivoglio, before 1644), and by the early 19th century a witty motto (Pananti).^[11]

The phrases in massima (1767) and in via di massima (1796–1797) came through the political language of the 18th century, and the purist Ugolini still condemned them in 1855.^[11] In linea di massima, “broadly”, is recorded in 1957.^[11] In law a massima is the summary of the principle on which a court, especially the Court of Cassation, based its ruling.^[3][13][5] The sense “maximum temperature” is recorded in 1965.^[11][14]

Timeline

• Before 1406 – F. Buti uses massime for self-evident first propositions.^[11][6]
• 1561 – Citolini names the massima among the musical notes.^[6][3][15]
• Before 1644 – G. Bentivoglio uses it for a precept or saying.^[11]
• 1767 – In massima is recorded.^[11]
• 1796–1797 – In via di massima is recorded.^[11]
• 1808–1825 – F. Pananti uses it for a motto.^[11]
• 1957 – In linea di massima is recorded.^[11]
• 1965 – The sense “maximum temperature” is recorded.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. maxim: a short saying that states a rule of life or a truth drawn from experience: le massime di Confucio.^[3][4][14]
2. A general principle followed as a rule of conduct.^[3][4][13]
3. (law) A short statement explaining a legal rule, or the summary of the principle applied in a court ruling: una massima della Cassazione.^[3][14][13]
4. In di massima, in linea di massima: broadly, in general, leaving details aside: un accordo di massima.^[4][13][16]
5. (meteorology) The maximum temperature of the day, short for temperatura massima.^[3][4][13]
6. (medicine) The systolic blood pressure.^[4][14][13]

Word family

• massimario

Related words

• massimo
• Latin maximus
• French maxime

Usage notes

Massima is also the feminine of the adjective massimo.^[13][7] The meteorological and medical senses are its feminine used as a noun, and Devoto–Oli, Sabatini–Coletti and Treccani list them as a separate word.^{[4][14][16][6]} In the medieval system of musical notation a massima was the longest note, worth two or three longs, from Medieval Latin maxima.^[5][6][12]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2384
9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ 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
12. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
16. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana