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riposo

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word riposo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
late 13th century, Novellino
Ultimate origin
Late Latin pausō

Pronunciation

  • /riˈpɔ.zo/, /riˈpɔ.so/[1]

Forms

riposo m (plural riposi)[1] Old forms include Old Italian ripauso, Old Italian reposo, Old Italian repuoso, Old Italian repuso, Old Italian riposso and Old Italian ripuoso.[2]

Etymology

It is a noun formed from the verb riposare2 (“to rest”).[3][4][5][6][1] GRADIT compares French repos, recorded about 1080, and Meyer-Lübke lists the Italian and French nouns as derivatives of the Latin verb; the same noun is Spanish reposo, Portuguese repouso and Romanian repaus.[5][7][1]

The verb comes from Late Latin repausō, recorded in the 5th century in Salonius, from pausō (“to cease, stop”) with the intensive prefix re-.[3][4] It took the place of classical Latin requiēscō (“to rest”).[3] pausō is usually derived from Latin pausa (“pause”), from Ancient Greek παῦσις (paûsis, “cessation”), though DELI notes that some take the noun from the verb instead.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Novellino, at the end of the 13th century, for resting, the interruption of work or effort.[3][5] Chiaro Davanzati, in the same century, uses it for relief or comfort.[3]

Semantic evolution

Dante uses the word for peace in the Vita Nuova (1293–1294), and in the Paradiso recalls the old Florence: “vid'io Fiorenza in sì fatto riposo, / che non avea cagione onde piangesse” (“I saw Florence in such peace that she had no cause to weep”).[3][8] Later senses are “sleep” (Bembo, before 1547) and l'eterno riposo, death, (Brusoni, before 1686), which DELI traces to the Latin prayers for the dead.[3]

The 19th century added the state of an officer or official retired from active service, a riposo (1872), and the drill position of soldiers and gymnasts standing at ease (1898).[3] In sport riposo is the half-time interval, and in cycling a rest day in a stage race.[9][10]

Timeline

  • Late 13th century – The Novellino uses riposo for rest.[3]
  • 1293–1294 – Dante uses it for peace in the Vita Nuova.[3]
  • Before 1547 – Pietro Bembo uses it for sleep.[3]
  • Before 1686 – Girolamo Brusoni uses l'eterno riposo for death.[3]
  • 1872 – The sense “retirement from active service” is recorded.[3]
  • 1898 – Vittorio Bersezio uses it for the military “at ease”.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. rest, a break from work or effort: Dopo la gita abbiamo bisogno di un po' di riposo.[5][9][8]
  2. A regular day or period off work: riposo settimanale.[5][9]
  3. Sleep: buon riposo!, sleep well.[5][9][8]
  4. (literary) Peace, quiet, (euphemistic) l'eterno riposo, death.[5][10][8]
  5. Retirement from active service: un colonnello a riposo.[8][10]
  6. (military) The position of standing at ease, Riposo!, the command for it.[5][10]
  7. (sports) The half-time interval.[9][8][10]

Word family

  • riposino

Usage notes

Common phrases are casa di riposo (“old people's home”), di tutto riposo (“untroubling, undemanding”) and senza riposo (“tirelessly”).[9][10][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 16, 697
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
Cite this entry

“Riposo.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/riposo. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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