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mattinata

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word mattinata

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1200s Bonvesin de la Riva, Volgari More words from the 12th century
Ultimate origin
Latin mātūtīnus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin Mātūta
Latin mātūtīnus
Italian mattina
Italian mattinata
From the same root
French matinée ← mātūtīnus
Latin mātūtīnum ← mātūtīnus
Italian domattina ← mattina
Italian stamattina ← mattina

Pronunciation

  • /mat.tiˈna.ta/[1]

Forms

mattinata f (plural mattinate)[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian mattinare (“to greet the morning; to serenade at dawn”): DELI explains it as the feminine past participle of this old verb, recorded before 1321 in Dante, used as a noun.[2] GRADIT, Devoto–Oli and Wiktionary derive it more simply: from Italian mattina + -ata.[3][4][1] That noun comes from Latin mātūtīna (“of the morning”), the adjective qualifying hōra (“hour”).[2][5]

In the sense “morning performance” the word follows French matinée.[4][6][2] DELI, DEI and Zingarelli give that sense a second headword, and Treccani calls it an adaptation of the French word.[7][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the vernacular poems of Bonvesin de la Riva of Milan, in the 13th century, where the word means the morning hours.[10] The love song sung at dawn is recorded in the 13th century in Folgore di San Gimignano, and as maitinata before 1313 in Cecco Angiolieri.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Old forms include maitinata, matinata, and northern maitinada and matinaa.[10] Barberino, about 1314, explained the custom in Bologna: lovers rose early to sing under their ladies' windows and called it mattinata.[2] In many dialects the word later sank to mean the din of pans and whistles made at a widower's wedding, as Bolognese maitinà.[2][11]

As a span of time, mattinata is the whole morning, seen through what happens in it or the weather, as giornata is the whole day.[12][3] Sacchetti has parendoli avere fatta buona mattinata (“thinking he had done a good morning's work”).[12] The phrase buscarsi la mattinata is to run into trouble early in the day.[12][9] The sense “morning or afternoon show” came from French in the 19th century: Tommaseo–Bellini has mattinata musicale in 1869.[2][8]

The love song gave the name to light vocal and instrumental pieces, such as Leoncavallo's Mattinata.[3][6][8] English music dictionaries use mattinata for this kind of piece, and German had Mattineta.[13]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Bonvesin de la Riva uses the word for the morning.[10]
  • 13th century – Folgore da San Gimignano uses it for the dawn love song.[2]
  • Before 1313 – Cecco Angiolieri writes maitinata.[2]
  • About 1314 – Barberino describes the Bolognese custom.[2][3]
  • Before 1321 – Dante uses the verb mattinare.[2]
  • Before 1342 – Cavalca uses mattinata for the morning hours.[2]
  • 1869 – Mattinata musicale is recorded for a daytime concert.[2][8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The morning as a span of time, especially with regard to the weather or to how it is spent: una mattinata di sole in montagna.[3][4][6][1]
  2. (dated) A love song sung at dawn under the window of the beloved.[3][4][6]
  3. (music) A light vocal or instrumental piece in the spirit of a morning greeting.[3][4][9]
  4. (uncommon) A matinée: a show or concert given in the morning or early afternoon.[3][4][8][1]

Word family

  • mattinataccia

Usage notes

In mattinata means “during the morning” or “by the end of the morning”, and older Italian also said di mattinata.[3][9][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  4. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  5. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2393
  8. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  9. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
  10. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  12. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  13. ^ Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
Cite this entry

“Mattinata.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/mattinata. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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