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orribile

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word orribile

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
late 12th century, Proverbia quae dicuntur (Venetian)
Borrowed from
Latin horribilis
Ultimate origin
Latin horreō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin horribilis
French horrible
Italian orribile

Pronunciation

  • /orˈri.bi.le/[1]

Forms

orribile m or f by sense (plural orribili)[1] Old and dialect forms include Old Italian orribele, Old Italian oribele and Old Italian orribel.[2][3]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin horribilis (“dreadful”), from horreō (“to bristle; to shudder”).[4][5][3][6] Wiktionary calls the borrowing probable.[1] The Latin verb first meant that the hair stood on end, and, from this “to feel horror”.[7][1]

French horrible and Spanish horrible are the same Latin word.[4] DEI dates the French word to the 12th century and gives it as the source of the English one.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Venetian Proverbia quae dicuntur of the late 12th century, in the sense “causing fear or dismay”.[2] DELI dates the sense “causing horror” to Dante (1300–1313), and GRADIT gives 1300.[8][5]

Semantic evolution

Dante writes of the “horrible languages” (orribili favelle) heard at the gate of Hell.[3] Old Italian applied the adjective to sights, smells and noises that caused disgust, to destructive natural events, and to deeds that deserved moral condemnation.[2] The weakened sense “very bad” is found about 1300 in the Italian Albertano and about 1350 in the Italian Crescenzi.[8] Today the adjective is often used as a hyperbole for something unpleasant or ugly.[5][9]

Timeline

  • Late 12th century – The Proverbia quae dicuntur use the adjective.[2]
  • 1288 – Orribilezza is recorded.[6]
  • c. 1300 – The sense “very bad” appears in the translated Albertano.[8]
  • 1300–1313 – Dante uses orribile “causing horror”.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. horrible, dreadful, causing horror: un urlo orribile.[5][9][7]
  2. Of an act, atrocious, cruel: una punizione orribile.[5]
  3. (hyperbolic) Very unpleasant, awful: Abbiamo fatto un viaggio orribile.[5][9][7]
  4. (hyperbolic) Very ugly: Quel cappotto è orribile.[5][9]
  5. Of weather or sea, very bad: un mare orribile.[5][9]

Word family

  • orribilmente
  • orribilità

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  3. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  4. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2682
  7. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  8. ^ 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
  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

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Orribile.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/orribile. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·