Etymologically
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matrimonio

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Pronunciation

  • /ma.triˈmɔ.njo/[1]

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

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