padrino

Forms

padrino m (plural padrini)^[1] The old form is Old Italian patrino.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Medieval Latin patrīnus (“godfather”), recorded in 752 and formed from Latin pater (“father”) with the suffix -īnus.^[4][1] Nocentini sets it up as Vulgar Latin *patrīnus, and Devoto–Oli and Treccani call it Late Latin;^[5][3][6][7] DEI notes that the custom it names is already mentioned by Tertullian.^[5][3][6][7] The word names the man defined by the bond formed with the godchild at baptism, like compare.^[5] The form with ⟨d⟩ was remade on padre, beside the older Old Italian patrino.^[8][9][10]

The same word is Old French parrin (modern French parrain, with another suffix), Occitan pairin, Catalan padrí, Spanish padrino, Portuguese padrinho and Sardinian padrinu.^[5][11] In old Venetian it also meant “confessor”, and in parts of Provence and Aragon “grandfather”.^[11] The Latin word for “father” goes back to Proto-Italic *patēr and Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini, GRADIT and Devoto–Oli date the word to the 13th century.^[5][4][3] The first record DELI gives is the old form patrino in Giovanni Dalle Celle (before 1396), for the man who presents a child to the priest at baptism or confirmation;^[2] padrino itself appears in Ramusio (1554–1565) and Bandello (before 1561).^[2]

Semantic evolution

From the sponsor at a sacrament the word passed to the second in a duel, who stands by a man in an affair of honour: patrino in Castiglione (before 1529), padrino in Fausto da Longiano in 1559.^[2][9] The GDLI compares Spanish padrino for this sense.^[12] The 1983 Code of Canon Law abolished the “spiritual kinship” that had bound godparents and godchildren.^[6]

In the 20th century padrino became the boss of a Mafia family, and by extension a powerful figure, often a politician, who controls a sector by means not always lawful;^[4][5][8] padrinaggio was formed in the same jargon.^[4][5][8] DIFIT dates this sense to 1982 and records it as copied in the English word godfather (1969) and in French parrain.^[13]

Timeline

• 752 – Medieval Latin patrinus is recorded.^[4]
• 13th century – Nocentini and GRADIT date the Italian word.^[5][4]
• Before 1396 – Giovanni Dalle Celle uses patrino for a godfather.^[2]
• Before 1529 – Castiglione uses patrino for a second in a duel.^[2]
• 1554–1565 – Ramusio uses the form padrino.^[2]
• 1969 – English godfather takes the sense “Mafia boss”.^[13]
• 1982 – DIFIT dates the Italian sense “Mafia boss”.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Christianity) A godfather: the man who sponsors someone at baptism or confirmation and becomes responsible for their Christian upbringing: Lo zio fece da padrino al battesimo.^[4][3][8]
2. (historical) A second in a duel;^[4][3][14] mandare i padrini is to challenge someone to a duel.^[4][3][14]
3. (slang) The head of a Mafia clan.^[4][3][14]
4. (by extension, derogatory) A powerful figure, especially in politics, who controls a sector by means not always lawful.^[4][14]
5. Someone who presides over a ceremony or launches a new venture.^[15]
6. A man who acts as ritual sponsor of a young person.^[4]

Word family

• padrinaggio

Related words

• padre
• madrina
• compare
• Latin pater
• French parrain

Usage notes

The feminine counterpart is madrina.^[1][6] An old padrino or patrino “monk, priest”, found in Cielo d'Alcamo and in Viviani in the 17th century, is treated by DEI and the GDLI as a separate word, taken from Sicilian parrinu, which comes from Old French parrin.^[7][16]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
7. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2718
8. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 723
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
12. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
13. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
14. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
16. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 12, 339