matrimonio

Forms

matrimonio m (plural matrimoni)^[1] Old Italian forms include matremonio, matrimoniu and matrimono.^[2]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin mātrimōnium (“marriage”), formed from māter (“mother”) on the model of patrimōnium (“patrimony”).^[3][4][5][6] The Latin word first meant the legal motherhood a woman gained by marrying, and then the marriage itself.^[3][4][7] The suffix -mōnium named a condition or duty.^[1][8] Spanish matrimonio is learned too, and English matrimony goes back to the Middle Ages.^[4][9]

Medieval writers explained the name from the mother's role: a 14th-century text says marriage is named after the mother rather than the father because her office is more visible in it, “Matrimonio tanto è a dire come ufficio di madre” (marriage is as much as to say the office of a mother).^[3][10] The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr (“mother”), perhaps from a nursery word for “mum”.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in a Viterbo translation, the Ranieri volgarizzato, of the first half of the 13th century, for the union of a man and a woman sanctioned by a civil or religious authority.^[2] DELI dates the word to Brunetto Latini, before 1294.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used matrimonio also for the marriage bed, the sacrament, any spiritual union (the mystic marriage of Christ and the Church) and even a military alliance.^[2] The adjective matrimoniale is in Bono Giamboni (before 1292); letto matrimoniale “double bed” is recorded in 1561.^[3]

Tommaseo (1869) has the sense “duration of married life”.^[3] The modern dictionaries add the wedding ceremony and figurative alliances between parties or firms, and Devoto–Oli notes the recent extension to same-sex couples in some countries.^[5][12] Matrimonialista, a lawyer for divorce and separation cases, dates from 1963.^[3][4]

Timeline

• First half of the 13th century – The Ranieri volgarizzato has the first record.^[2]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses matrimoniale.^[3]
• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses matrimonio.^[3]
• 1561 – Letto matrimoniale “double bed” is recorded.^[3]
• 1869 – Tommaseo records the sense “married life”.^[3]
• 1963 – Matrimonialista is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Marriage, the union of two spouses before a civil or religious authority: matrimonio civile, matrimonio religioso.^[5][12][13]
2. Married life, or its length: Dopo vent'anni di matrimonio si conoscono bene.^[5][13]
3. A wedding, the ceremony: Siamo invitati a un matrimonio sabato.^[5][13][1]
4. (Catholicism) The sacrament of marriage.^[5][12]
5. (figurative) An alliance between two parties, firms or the like.^[5]

Word family

• matrimoniale
• matrimonialista

Related words

• sposare
• monogamia
• divorzio
• separazione
• madre
• patrimonio
• nozze
• Latin matrimonium

Usage notes

Matrimonio di convenienza is a marriage of convenience, and fare un buon matrimonio is to marry well.^[6][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
9. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2392
10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli