Etymologically
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promessa

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 07:31. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /proˈmes.sa/[1]

Forms

promessa f (plural promesse)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin promissa (“promise”), originally the neuter plural prōmissa (“things promised”), the past participle used as a noun of prōmittō (“to send forward; to promise”).[2][3][4][5][1] The neuter plural was reinterpreted as a feminine singular.[2][6] The Latin verb is a compound of prō- (“forward”) and mittō (“to send”).[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in the 13th-century poet Inghilfredi of Lucca, with the sense “the act of promising, a promise”.[8][9]

Semantic evolution

A line of Dante's Inferno promises triumph from “a long promise with short keeping” (lunga promessa con l'attender corto).[10] Old Italian also used the word for a legal obligation or guarantee, now obsolete.[5][11] Proverbs and set phrases kept the moral weight of the word: ogni promessa è debito “every promise is a debt”, while a promessa da marinaio, a sailor's promise, is one quickly forgotten.[3][5][4] The law knows the promessa di matrimonio and the promessa di vendita.[3][6]

From the 20th century the word is used of a person, a young talent who promises great success, as in una promessa del calcio;[8][9] DELI first records this in a dictionary of 1958.[8][9]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Inghilfredi uses promessa.[8][2]
  • 1958 – The sense “promising young talent” is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A promise, an undertaking freely made to someone or to oneself: Ti faccio una promessa: domani torno presto.[9][3][6][1]
  2. (law) A binding undertaking to give or do something: promessa di vendita.[6][3][4]
  3. (figurative) A promising young person, a rising talent, especially in sport or the arts: È una giovane promessa del ciclismo.[9][3][6][1]
  4. (figurative) What one is led to expect from present signs.[9]

Usage notes

Promessa is also the feminine of the participle promesso; as a noun it means “fiancée”, as in promessa sposa.[9][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c d e f 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 Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  5. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli