Etymologically
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puttana

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Pronunciation

  • /putˈta.na/[1]

Forms

puttana f (plural puttane, masculine puttano)[1] The TLIO lists the Old Italian forms puitana, putana and puctana.[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French putain (about 1119), the old oblique case of pute (“whore”), perhaps by way of Old Occitan putana.[3][4][5][6] Nocentini explains the Old French form as the relic of a feminine declension with the ending -āna in the oblique cases: an accusative *puttāna beside the nominative.[7]

The origin of the Old French noun is disputed.[7][6] DELI, Zingarelli and Treccani follow Wartburg in deriving it from the adjective put (“stinking, foul”), from Latin pūtidus (“stinking”), from pūteō (“to stink”).[3][8][9] Meyer-Lübke rejected that link as hard to accept in meaning, and Nocentini and Devoto–Oli start instead from Vulgar Latin putta (“girl”), feminine of *puttus (“boy”), the source of putto.[6][7][5] In Nocentini's view the shift from “girl” to “prostitute” is a euphemism repeated in many times and places, as with signorina, French demoiselle and German Fräulein; the Vulgar Latin noun already means “prostitute” in Gregory of Tours in the 6th century, and that sense lives on in Spanish puta.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur of the late 12th century, and GRADIT dates the old variant puitana to the 12th century.[2][4] Early in the 13th century Uguccione da Lodi warns that “brigar e usar co le puitane è mortal peccà” (to deal and consort with whores is a mortal sin).[10] Before this, the inscription of San Clemente in Rome (late 11th or early 12th century) has putta in the insult “fili de le pute” (sons of whores).[3]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used the word for a prostitute, also in pubblica puttana, as an insult, in figliuolo di puttana, and for a husband's mistress.[2] Dante places “Taide … la puttana” in the eighth circle of Hell, and the verb puttaneggiare appears in his work before 1313.[10][7] Sputtanare “to disgrace publicly” is recorded in 1849, puttanaio “brothel; mess” in 1931 and puttanata “nonsense; dirty trick” in 1958.[7]

Today the word is vulgar.[4][5] It is also used for anyone, man or woman, who changes behaviour or loyalty for gain, as a strengthening word in curses, and in poker slang for the queen.[4][5][9] Italian lent the word to Greek and Albanian.[11][1]

Timeline

  • Late 11th or early 12th century – The San Clemente inscription uses pute.[3]
  • About 1119 – Old French putain is recorded.[3][4]
  • Last quarter of the 12th century – The Proverbia que dicuntur use the word.[2]
  • 13th century – The Judaeo-Italian Elegia uses puttana.[3]
  • Before 1313 – Dante uses puttaneggiare.[7]
  • 1849 – Sputtanare is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (vulgar) A prostitute, whore.[4][5][12][1]
  2. (vulgar, derogatory) A woman regarded as promiscuous; used as an insult.[4][5][8]
  3. (derogatory, figurative) A person, man or woman, who drops principles or loyalties for advantage.[4][5][9]
  4. (card games, slang) The queen in poker.[4]
  5. (vulgar) Used attributively in curses: porca puttana!, miseria puttana![4][12][9]

Word family

  • puttaniere
  • puttanata
  • puttanaio
  • sputtanare
  • puttaneggiare
  • puttanesca
  • puttanella
  • putta
  • putto
  • French putain
  • Spanish puta

Usage notes

Figlio di puttana “son of a bitch” is an insult for a dishonest person.[4][8][5] Andare a puttane means “to go to prostitutes”, and andare or mandare a puttane also “to go (or send) to ruin”.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  3. ^ a b c d e f 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 h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  9. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  10. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 1067
  11. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3160
  12. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse