Etymologically
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opportunità

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 21:30. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /op.por.tu.niˈta/[1]

Forms

opportunità f (invariable)[1] Old Italian also had opportunitade and Old Italian opportunitate.[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin opportūnitās (“fitness, convenience; favourable occasion”), a learned word.[4][5][6][1] The Latin noun is formed from opportūnus (“suitable, convenient”) with the suffix -tās.[7][1] The adjective is probably made of ob (“towards”) and portus (“harbour”), and was in origin a sailors' word for a wind that carries a ship towards port.[7][8] Italian opportuno continues the same adjective.[5][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Dante uses the older form opportunitate in the Convivio (1304–1308) for the quality of being timely or fitting: he speaks of the Romans acting “according to the opportunitade of the time”.[4][2][6]

Semantic evolution

By about 1350 the Tuscan translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi used the word for a favourable circumstance, a suitable time or place to do something, which is its main sense today.[4] The shortened form opportunità replaced opportunitate in the 16th century;[4][10] DELI's first example is from Iacopo Nardi, before 1563.[4][10] Boccaccio could also use it for a need, even a bodily one, a sense the modern dictionaries label old.[11][6][9]

Pari opportunità, equal treatment of men and women in education and work, is a loan translation of English equal opportunity.[9][12][11]

Timeline

  • 1304–1308 – Dante has opportunitate in the Convivio.[4][6]
  • c. 1350 – The Italian Crescenzi uses it for a favourable occasion.[4]
  • Before 1563 – Iacopo Nardi writes the modern form opportunità.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The quality of being opportune or fitting; advisability, timeliness: Discutiamo ancora sull'opportunità di vendere la casa.[6][9][10]
  2. An opportunity, a favourable occasion or chance: Non ho mai avuto l'opportunità di ringraziarla.[6][9][12]
  3. (rare) Advantage, usefulness.[6][12]
  4. (obsolete) Need, necessity.[6][10][13]

Usage notes

Opportunità is invariable: le opportunità.[6][1] Zingarelli distinguishes it from occasione, which stresses the chance nature of the circumstance.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  3. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
  9. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  10. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli