originale

Forms

originale m or f by sense (plural originali, superlative originalissimo)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Late Latin orīginālis, from orīgō (“origin”) with the suffix -ālis.^{[2][3][4][1][5]} DEI notes that Medieval Latin documents already have originalis at Nonantola in 989 and at Pavia in the 10th century, and originale (a copy) at Gaeta in 976: the Church and the chanceries spread the word.^[6] Sabatini–Coletti holds that the senses “new, inventive” and the noun “eccentric person” came through French original.^[7]

Old forms include Old Italian originalle and Old Italian orriginale.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is from the 14th century, in an Italian version of Saint Jerome, with the sense “belonging to the origins”; the noun, “the author's own work from which copies are made”, is in Guido da Pisa in the same century.^[2] In the 14th century the adjective also meant “native”: Giovanni Villani writes of gli antichi originali cittadini, “the old native citizens”.^[9][6]

Semantic evolution

The sense “made by the author himself” is recorded in 1785, and “new, not modelled on anything before” in Ludovico Antonio Muratori in 1706.^[2] The sense “odd, eccentric” followed in 1809, and the noun for an eccentric person by 1831.^[2][7] Tommaseo–Bellini (1869) records “proper to the author of a work”, and edizione originale, the first published edition, appears in the Enciclopedia italiana in 1932.^[2] The sense “made in its place of origin, genuine” is recorded in 1958.^[2]

Peccato originale, original sin, is the sin of Adam and Eve passed on to all humankind.^[10][11] The derivative originalità is recorded from the 19th century.^[6]

Timeline

• 976 – Medieval Latin originale (copy) is used at Gaeta.^[6]
• 14th century – Italian originale appears in a version of Saint Jerome and, as a noun, in Guido da Pisa.^[2]
• 1706 – Muratori uses it for “new, inventive”.^[2]
• 1785 – The sense “made by the author” is recorded.^[2]
• 1809 – The sense “odd, eccentric” appears.^[2]
• 1932 – Edizione originale appears in the Enciclopedia italiana.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. original: not changed by later work; being the first version, not a copy or translation: Ho visto il film in lingua originale.^[4][12][1]
2. Made in, or typical of, its place of origin; genuine: un tappeto persiano originale.^[4][12][7]
3. New and personal, not imitating earlier models: Ha avuto un'idea davvero originale.^[4][10][1]
4. Odd, eccentric: Si veste in modo un po' troppo originale.^[4][7][1]
5. Existing from the origin; inborn: peccato originale.^[7][11][13]

Noun

1. The original of a document, work or object, as opposed to a copy, reproduction or translation: Conservo l'originale e ti do una fotocopia.^[4][10][1]
2. The person or thing that is the model for a portrait or photograph.^[4][7]
3. An eccentric person, a character.^[7][1]

Word family

• originalità
• originalmente

Related words

• origine
• originario
• Latin origo

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2676
7. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 12
9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli