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paga

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word paga

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
before 1294, Brunetto Latini
Ultimate origin
Latin pāx

Pronunciation

Forms

paga f (plural paghe)[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun of pagare (“to pay”), formed without a suffix.[2][3][4][1] GRADIT compares Medieval Latin paga, recorded in 1187.[4]

The verb continues Latin pācō (“to pacify, to make quiet”), a derivative of pāx (“peace”).[2][3][1] Nocentini explains the change of meaning: “to quieten” came to mean quietening a creditor with money, and so “to pay”.[3] The verb is pan-Romance: French payer, Occitan pagar, Catalan pagar, Spanish pagar, Portuguese pagar and Sardinian pagare.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is a Sienese letter of 1262, where the word means an instalment of a payment, and the sense “wages” follows in Brunetto Latini (before 1294).[2] In Latini's Rettorica the ambassadors are told to collect la paga from the chamberlain to cover their expenses.[5]

Semantic evolution

In the Middle Ages paga was above all the pay of soldiers, and Giovanni Villani tells of an escort that brought la paga di tutta la gente del Re, “the pay of all the King's men”.[6][4] By metonymy the word could also name the paid soldier himself, a sense now obsolete.[4][7][8] Tommaseo defined it as a fixed sum paid at fixed times, to soldiers and also to civil officials.[6]

The ironic sense “reward”, said of poor thanks for one's efforts, is dated 1871, from Tommaseo's dictionary.[2] In colloquial use paga is also a beating or defeat at a game.[4][7][9] From the middle of the 20th century the noun follows another noun like an adjective in busta paga, the pay packet or payslip, used by Pratolini and Marotta.[2] The diminutive paghetta meant part of the pay in Machiavelli (1503) and, from 1970, the pocket money parents give their children.[2]

Timeline

  • 1187 – Medieval Latin paga is recorded.[4]
  • 1262 – A Sienese letter uses paga for an instalment.[2]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for “wages”.[2]
  • 1503 – Machiavelli uses the diminutive paghetta.[2]
  • 1871 – The ironic sense “reward” is recorded.[2]
  • 1905 – Il paga, “the one who pays”, is recorded.[8][10]
  • 1945–1955 – Pratolini writes busta paga.[2]
  • 1970 – Paghetta “pocket money” enters the Zingarelli dictionary.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. pay, wages: the money paid, usually at regular times, for work: Gli operai aspettano la paga di fine mese.[4][8][10]
  2. (historical) The pay of soldiers, especially of mercenaries.[4][1][6]
  3. (figurative, often ironic) Reward, recompense: Questa è la paga per anni di lavoro?[4][10][11]
  4. (colloquial) A defeat at a game or contest.[4][7]
  5. (obsolete) An instalment of a payment.[4]
  6. (obsolete) A paid soldier.[4][7][8]
  7. (uncommon; masculine and feminine, invariable) The one who pays, a payer: essere il paga.[4][8][10]

Word family

  • paghetta
  • paghista
  • soprappaga

Usage notes

Paga “payer” is the verb form paga, third person singular or imperative of pagare, used as a noun, and is recorded from 1905;[8][10][11] De Amicis wrote essere il paga della compagnia, “to be the one who pays for the group”, and una mala paga is a bad payer.[5][8] In busta paga, libro paga and ufficio paga the noun follows another noun and does not change, so the plural is buste paga.[11][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  6. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  9. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  10. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
Cite this entry

“Paga.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/paga. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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