Etymologically
Log in

prezzo

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 21:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˈprɛt.t͡so/[1]

Forms

prezzo m (plural prezzi)[1] Old and dialect forms include Old Italian prezio, Old Italian prezo, Old Italian presso and Old Italian prezzu.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pretium (“price, value”).[3][4][5][1] The Latin /tj/ became the voiceless affricate /ts/, the regular Tuscan outcome.[6] The same Latin word gave the doublet pregio, which Körting distinguishes as the intrinsic or ideal worth of a thing, as against its value in money.[1][7]

The word is found in nearly all the Romance languages: French prix, Occitan pretz, Catalan preu, Spanish precio, Portuguese preço and Romanian preț.[4][8] DEI regards the Spanish and Portuguese forms as semi-learned.[9] The DÉRom reconstructs a neuter Proto-Romance */ˈprεti-u/, since the Romanian word is neuter like the Latin.[10]

The origin of the Latin noun is uncertain.[3][9] De Vaan and Wiktionary derive it from a preposition Proto-Indo-European *préti (“against”), the source of Sanskrit प्रति (práti) and Ancient Greek προτί (protí), and de Vaan sees no viable alternative.[11][1] Others connect it with Latin interpres (“intermediary”) and Ancient Greek πέρνημι (pérnēmi, “to sell”), with an original sense of trade.[4][12][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini, GRADIT and Zingarelli date the first record to 1262;[4][5][13][3] DELI's first dated sense, the value of goods in exchange, the money needed to buy something, is in the Novellino at the end of the 13th century.[4][5][13][3]

Semantic evolution

From the money paid for a thing the word passed to reward or gain in the 14th century, and to worth or esteem, the sense of pregio, in Boccaccio before 1375.[3][9] Manzoni uses it in 1822 for whatever one gives in exchange for something, the source of figurative uses such as a caro prezzo “dearly” and a qualunque prezzo “at any cost”.[3][13] The price tag on goods is called prezzo from 1965.[3]

The derived verb prezzolare “to hire for pay, especially for wicked ends” is recorded in the 14th century, and prezzolato “hired, mercenary” in Boccaccio in 1353.[3] The economics of the 20th century added prezzo politico and prezzo corporativo, prices set by the state.[9][14]

Timeline

  • 1262 – Prezzo is first recorded.[4][5]
  • End of the 13th century – The Novellino uses it for the value of goods in money.[3]
  • 1353 – Boccaccio uses prezzolato “hired”.[3]
  • Before 1375 – Boccaccio uses prezzo for worth, esteem.[3]
  • 1822 – Manzoni uses it for what is given in exchange for something.[3]
  • 1958 – Prezzare “to price” and prezzario are recorded.[4]
  • 1965 – Prezzo is recorded for a price tag.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. price, the sum of money needed to buy a good or obtain a service: Il prezzo della benzina è salito di nuovo.[5][15][6]
  2. The written price; a price tag: Togli il prezzo prima di incartare il regalo.[5][6][13]
  3. (figurative) What one must give up or suffer to achieve something; the cost: il prezzo della fama.[5][6][13]
  4. (literary) Worth, esteem, value.[5][6][13]

Word family

  • prezzare
  • prezzario
  • prezzolare
  • prezzolato
  • apprezzare
  • deprezzare
  • disprezzare
  • disprezzo
  • sprezzare
  • sprezzante
  • sovrapprezzo

Usage notes

Fixed phrases include a caro prezzo “dearly”, a prezzo di “at the cost of”, and non avere prezzo “to be priceless”.[5][13][14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  7. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3077
  10. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
  11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  12. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  14. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  15. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier