Etymologically
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orribile

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 21:11. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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