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responsabilità

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word responsabilità

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1760, G. R. Carli
Ultimate origin
Latin respondeō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French responsable
Italian responsabile
Italian responsabilità

Pronunciation

  • /res.pon.sa.bi.liˈta/[1]

Forms

responsabilità f[1] The older form risponsabilità is now obsolete.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is from Italian responsabile + -ità, formed on the model of French responsabilité.[5][6][7][1] DELI, following Ferdinand Brunot, explains that France took the word from English responsibility and spread it all over Europe with the weighty sense that the events of the late 18th century had given it.[5][3][8] GDLI dates the French word from 1783 and the English from 1766.[4][7]

The adjective itself was taken from French responsable, formed on the past participle of Latin respondeō (“to answer; to pledge”); it is recorded as risponsabile in 1657 and in its present form in 1706.[6][5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Gian Rinaldo Carli in 1760, in the sense “the state of being responsible”;[5][4] Carli writes that he has no doubt his correspondent wishes only to discharge “quelle responsabilità che vi siete in vista del mondo addossata” (“the responsibilities you have taken upon yourself in the eyes of the world”).[5][4] GRADIT's date is 1785, in the diplomatic letters of Pietro Paolo Celesia.[7]

Semantic evolution

The word spread in the political language of the late 18th century: Beccaria uses it, and Galiani writes risponsabilità.[4] The sense “the position of one who answers for something” is recorded before 1799, and the legal sense, liability to a penalty for breaking a legal duty, in Romagnosi before 1835.[5] In the 19th and 20th centuries came the negative irresponsabilità (1875) and the verb responsabilizzare, “to make responsible” (1961).[6]

Modern Italian uses the word for a duty or charge, for the awareness of one's acts (senso di responsabilità), for blame, and for legal liability, as in responsabilità civile and società a responsabilità limitata, a limited company.[7][3][9]

Timeline

  • 1657 – Risponsabile is recorded.[5][7]
  • 1760 – Gian Rinaldo Carli uses responsabilità.[5][4]
  • 1783 – French responsabilité is recorded.[4][7]
  • 1785 – Celesia uses the word in diplomatic letters.[7]
  • Before 1835 – Romagnosi uses it in the legal sense.[5]
  • 1875 – Irresponsabilità is recorded.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. responsibility: the condition of being answerable for something, and the duty or charge that follows from it: Si è assunto la responsabilità del progetto.[7][2][10]
  2. A sense of responsibility, awareness of the consequences of one's actions: Ha agito con grande responsabilità.[7][2][10]
  3. blame, fault: La responsabilità dell'errore è mia.[7][9][8]
  4. (law) liability: the position of someone who must answer for a breach of an obligation or an unlawful act, as in responsabilità civile and penale.[7][10][3]
  5. A post of control or coordination: Le hanno affidato la responsabilità del magazzino.[2][10]

Word family

  • irresponsabilità
  • corresponsabilità

Usage notes

Responsabilità is invariable in the plural.[7][2] Di responsabilità describes an important, demanding post.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d 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 f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  9. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
Cite this entry

“Responsabilità.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/responsabilit%C3%A0. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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