Etymologically
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ragazza

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Pronunciation

  • /raˈɡat.t͡sa/[1]

Forms

ragazza f (plural ragazze, masculine ragazzo, diminutive ragazzétta or ragazzìna, (uncommon) ragazzòla or ragazzuòla, augmentative ragazzóna, pejorative ragazzàccia, derogatory ragazzùccia (“pitiful girl”))[1]

Etymology

It is the feminine of ragazzo (“boy”).[2][3][4][5][1] DEI suggests that the masculine first meant a servant, male or female.[6]

The origin of the masculine is disputed.[7][8] DELI follows Giovan Battista Pellegrini and Joan Corominas, who independently derived it from Arabic رَقَّاص (raqqāṣ, “courier, messenger”), used in the Maghreb from the 13th century and probably brought in through Sicily.[7] Nocentini rejects the Arabic source, since the word is native neither to Venice nor to Sicily, and returns to Josef Brüch's proposal of Ancient Greek ἐργάτης (ergátēs, “worker”) in its Byzantine sense “servant”, which came in through the Exarchate of Ravenna and gave a dialect ⟨regazzo⟩.[8] Wiktionary takes the masculine from a reconstructed Vulgar Latin *ragatius, from ῥάκος (rhákos, “rag”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini dates ragazza to 1342,[8] GRADIT to before 1419, and Devoto–Oli to the first half of the 15th century, while Zingarelli and Sabatini–Coletti give much later dates (1676, 17th century).[2][3][9][4] It meant a girl or young woman from puberty to marriage.[10][11]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th century ragazza appears in Fagiuoli, Forteguerri and Goldoni for a girl or young unmarried woman;[12] Tommaseo noted that one goes on saying ragazza of a grown girl until she marries.[12] Tommaseo–Bellini also gives mia ragazza for “my daughter” and the proverb Ragazza che dura, non perde ventura (a girl who waits does not lose her luck), said to comfort girls who are still unmarried.[10]

The sense “girlfriend” corresponds to ragazzo “boyfriend”, which DELI dates to 1895.[7][2] Modern compounds include ragazza madre “unmarried mother”, ragazza squillo “call girl” and ragazza pompon “cheerleader”, quoted in the press from 2001.[9][3][13] English uses ragazza of Italian girls from 1814.[14]

Timeline

  • 1342 – Ragazza is first recorded.[8]
  • Before 1419 – GRADIT's first record.[2]
  • 1814 – Ragazza is recorded in English, of Italian girls.[14]
  • 1895 – Ragazzo “boyfriend” is recorded.[7]
  • 2001 – Ragazza pompon “cheerleader” appears in the Corriere della Sera.[13]

Meanings

Noun

  1. girl, young woman, between adolescence and adulthood: Due ragazze aspettavano l'autobus.[2][3][4]
  2. An unmarried woman, as in cognome da ragazza “maiden name”.[2][3][4]
  3. (colloquial) girlfriend; also a fiancée.[2][3][1]
  4. (colloquial) A young woman who works as a helper in a house or a shop.[2][3][5]
  5. (colloquial) Daughter: Ha un figlio e due ragazze.[9][15][10]

Word family

  • ragazzina
  • ragazzetta
  • ragazzona
  • ragazzaccia

Usage notes

Ragazza has the same diminutives and other altered forms as ragazzo.[5][1] In address to a group of women, ragazze is also used familiarly of adults.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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 d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  5. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  6. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3197
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  12. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 15, 310
  13. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. Supplemento 2009
  14. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli