pasquale

Forms

pasquale m or f by sense (plural pasquali)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Late Latin paschālis (“of Easter”), the Christian adjective of pascha (“Easter, Passover”), remade on the model of Pasqua.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Devoto describes it as the Latin adjective crossed with the Italian noun.^[7] The older form Old Italian pascale, closer to the Latin, appears in early texts and is marked as archaic by the modern dictionaries.^[4][8][9][6]

The Latin noun is from Ancient Greek πάσχα (páskha), from Aramaic פַּסְחָא (pasḥā), which corresponds to Biblical Hebrew פֶּסַח (pésaḥ), literally “passage”.^[3][10][1] The name was traditionally referred to the crossing of the Red Sea and the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, which the Jewish feast commemorated.^[3][10] In Christian Latin the noun was reshaped by association with pascua (“pastures”), the plural of pascuum, which explains the ⟨qu⟩ of the Italian noun beside the ⟨ch⟩ the adjective kept in Latin.^[3][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI dates the word to the 14th century, in an Italian translation of the homilies of Saint Gregory, where it means “of Easter”.^[10] The Battaglia dictionary quotes that text in its old form: Ecco che noi celebriamo le feste pascali (“Behold, we celebrate the Easter feasts”).^[6]

Semantic evolution

Besides the plain sense “of Easter”, early texts use the word of what is fit for a feast: Fra Giordano speaks of clothes that are good, honourable and pasquali.^[11] In the language of the Church, tempo pasquale is the time from Easter to Pentecost, and also the period set in each diocese for the Easter duty.^[11] The Battaglia dictionary records the historical lettera pasquale, the letter in which the patriarch of Alexandria announced the date of Easter to the other metropolitans.^[6]

By extension the adjective describes the atmosphere of the Easter season, as in D'Annunzio's profumo pasquale, and figuratively a radiant face.^[6] The same dictionary records a sense “stupid, simpleton”, probably influenced by the given name Pasquale, following Migliorini, and an old sense “solemn, deferential”.^[6] Among the modern set phrases, pulizie pasquali is a joking name for a thorough cleaning of the house, once done for the Easter blessing of homes.^[9][5]

Timeline

• 14th century – Pascale appears in the Italian translation of the homilies of Saint Gregory.^[10][6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or relating to Easter, its celebrations and traditions, or the period around it: Abbiamo comprato una colomba per il pranzo pasquale.^{[2][9][12][5][1]}
2. (by extension) Recalling the atmosphere of the Easter season.^[6]
3. (figurative, rare) radiant, beaming (of a face).^[6]

Word family

• pasqualino

Related words

• Pasqua
• Latin paschalis

Usage notes

Fixed phrases include agnello pasquale, the paschal lamb, a symbol of Christ, cero pasquale, the paschal candle, precetto pasquale, the obligation for Catholics to receive communion at Easter, and veglia pasquale, the Easter vigil.^[2][9][5]

Pasquale with a capital is a male given name, the equivalent of English Pascal, and a surname taken from it.^[1] The orologio di san Pasquale refers to Saint Paschal.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ 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)
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 12, 729
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
9. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse