proprietario

Forms

proprietario m (plural proprietari, feminine proprietaria)^[1] The popular form propietario is old and is still used in popular speech.^[2][3][4][5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin proprietārius (“owner”), a learned word formed from Latin proprietās (“property, ownership”) with the suffix -ārius.^{[6][2][7][8][1]} In Roman law the word named the owner of a thing as opposed to one who held only its use and fruits.^[9][5]

The dictionaries disagree on the date: DELI gives the 14th century, from the “Trattato dei peccati”, and GRADIT and Devoto–Oli the end of the 14th century, while Nocentini dates it to the end of the 15th.^{[10][6][2][7]} DELI notes that the example from Jacopone da Todi quoted by the Crusca and by Tommaseo comes from apocryphal lauds printed at Venice in 1617.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Trattato dei peccati the word is used of members of religious orders who own property although they have vowed to live without anything of their own: Quelli di religione che son propietari ed hanno botato di vivere sanza proprio.^[4][5] This disapproving use, against the vow of poverty, recurs in Giovanni Dominici and in Bandello.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Beside its religious use the word soon had the general sense “one who owns something”, and Tommaseo records legittimo proprietario and the contrast between the owner and the usufructuary.^[4][5] Used absolutely it named a person living on property, as opposed to one who lives by his work or a salary.^[5] In the 18th century a proprietario was also an officer given command of a regiment as an honour, without the duty of serving with it.^[8][11]

As an adjective the word means “relating to property” (diritti proprietari).^[8][2] In computing it describes a product offered as a standard of its own by the company that makes it and holds its rights, a sense that the GDLI added in its 2009 supplement.^[6][2][4]

Timeline

• 14th century – The Trattato dei peccati uses propietari of monks who own property.^[10][4]
• End of the 15th century – Nocentini's date for the word.^[7]
• 1617 – Lauds attributed to Jacopone da Todi, printed at Venice, use proprietario.^[10]
• 18th century – Proprietario names the honorary commander of a regiment.^[8][11]
• 2009 – The GDLI supplement records the computing sense.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. owner, proprietor: one who has the ownership of a thing: Il proprietario del negozio abita al piano di sopra.^{[6][2][12][3]}
2. (absolute) A property owner, one who owns land, buildings or a business: proprietario terriero.^[6][2][12]
3. (history) In the 18th century, an honorary commander of a regiment, without the duty of personal service.^[8][11]

Adjective

1. Owning; relating to ownership: la società proprietaria dell'edificio.^[6][2][8]
2. (computing) proprietary: developed with technology owned exclusively by its maker, not based on a common standard.^[6][2][12]

Word family

• comproprietario
• proprietariato

Related words

• proprietà
• proprio
• Latin proprietas

Usage notes

In the sense “owner” the word is close to padrone, and in the sense “landowner” to possidente.^[12][8]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
4. ^ a b c d e f g Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
5. ^ a b c d e Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
12. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse