Etymology and origin of the Italian word miss
Forms
miss f (invariable, English plural misses)[1][2][3]
Etymology
It is borrowed from English miss (“young lady”), short for mistress (“lady”), from Old French maistresse (“mistress; teacher”).[4][5][1][2] The Old French word comes from Latin magistra (“female teacher”), with the feminine suffix strengthened to ⟨-esse⟩.[6] Battisti and Alessio think it reached Italian through French miss, recorded in French in 1713 but common only in the 19th century.[7] It is related to mister, from the same source.[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
Zingarelli dates the word to 1764, Sabatini and Coletti to the 18th century, and Nocentini and Devoto–Oli to 1880.[3][8][5][2] In the first sense, an English title for an unmarried woman, Milan newspapers knew it by 1901.[4]
Semantic evolution
In Italy the title was used mainly for women from English-speaking countries, and loosely for an English governess or tutor;[9][1] Panzini objected that in English it goes only before a name.[9][1]
The sense “winner of a beauty contest” came from America: Battisti and Alessio date it to 1927, and DELI cites miss Germania in the Domenica del Corriere of 1929.[4][7] Miss Italia and similar titles followed, and in journalism the word names any woman singled out for a quality, often ironically.[2][10]
Timeline
- 1713 – French miss is recorded.[7]
- 1764 – The word is first recorded in Italian.[3]
- 1880 – Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the title to this year.[5][2]
- 1927 – Miss is used for the winner of a beauty contest.[7]
- 1929 – The Domenica del Corriere writes miss Germania.[4]
Meanings
Noun
- Miss, the English title for an unmarried woman, used before her name.[1][2][8]
- (uncommon) An English governess or tutor.[1][2][11]
- The winner of a beauty contest: È stata eletta miss della sua provincia.[1][2][3]
- (journalism) A woman singled out for some quality, often ironically: miss simpatia.[2]
Related words
Usage notes
Miss Italia, miss Universo and miss mondo are the names of beauty titles.[10][8]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
- ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
- ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
- ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2476
- ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
- ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 10
- ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
- ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Miss.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/miss. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.
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