Etymologically
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originale

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 20:31. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /o.ri.d͡ʒiˈna.le/[1]

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
  • 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