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Etymology and origin of the Italian word rumore

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
early 12th century (as remore)
Inherited from
Latin rumor
Ultimate origin
Latin rūmor
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin rumor
Italian rumore

Pronunciation

Forms

rumore m (plural rumori)[1] Old forms include Old Italian remore, Old Italian rimore, Old Italian ramore and Old Italian remure.[2][3] The form romore, usual in Old Italian, is now archaic or literary.[4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin rūmor (“noise, murmur; talk, rumour”).[6][7][3][1] The early form Old Italian romore is explained by DELI and GDLI from a spoken variant Vulgar Latin *romor, though DELI adds that an unstressed /u/ often turned into /o/ in Italian anyway.[6][2][8] The form with /u/ was still rare beside the one with /o/ in the 18th century and prevailed only in the 19th;[6][9] Prati calls it a literary form.[6][9] The same Latin word gave Old French remour (today French rumeur), Occitan rimor, Catalan remor, Spanish rumor and Portuguese rumor.[7]

The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Italic *roumōs.[10][1] It has been linked with Ancient Greek ὠρύομαι (ōrúomai, “to howl”) and with a root for roaring or shouting, Proto-Indo-European *h₃rewH-, but de Vaan calls the connection only possible.[10][1][7] Nocentini puts it with the imitative base of rugiō (“to roar”), the source of ruggire.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT and Nocentini date the word to the early 12th century, in the old form remore.[3][7] Romore is in Bono Giamboni before 1292, and rumore in Jacopone da Todi before 1306, for a noise.[6] Monte Andrea compares himself to a stag that, quando ode il suo romore (“when it hears the hunter's noise”), goes towards its death.[2]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian stretched “noise” to a din and an uproar (about 1300, where it is properly “weeping with cries”) and to a riot or revolt of the people, recorded in 1305 and before 1342 in Domenico Cavalca.[6] Petrarch's Polyphemus ne fa gran romori, raging and lamenting, and in Boccaccio a romore rises against the king.[3] The figurative sense of gossip, talk and a stir is recorded before 1527 in Machiavelli.[6] Today fare rumore is to cause a sensation, and mettere a rumore to set in uproar.[8][3]

In the 20th century the word became a term of physics and engineering for a mixture of irregular vibrations (rumore bianco, white noise), of the theory of communication for anything that disturbs a message, and of medicine for sounds heard through the stethoscope.[3][8][11]

Timeline

  • Early 12th century – The form remore is recorded.[3][7]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses romore.[6]
  • c. 1300 – The sense “weeping with cries, uproar” is recorded.[6]
  • Before 1306 – Jacopone da Todi writes rumore.[6]
  • Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses it for a popular uprising.[6]
  • Before 1527 – Machiavelli uses romore for talk and rumour.[6]
  • 19th century – Rumore finally replaces romore.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. noise, a sound with irregular, unmusical vibrations, often unpleasant: Il rumore dei camion mi ha svegliato.[3][4][8]
  2. (physics) An emission of sound waves with no definite frequency: rumore bianco.[3][4][11]
  3. A loud, confused noise of voices, a din; also a murmur.[3][4]
  4. (figurative) A stir, a sensation: La sua scoperta ha fatto molto rumore.[4][8][5]
  5. (dated) A rumour, unofficial news that spreads quickly; also gossip.[3][8][1]
  6. (archaic) A riot, a popular uprising.[3][5]
  7. (linguistics, telecommunications) Anything that disturbs the passing of a message from sender to receiver.[8][11]
  8. (medicine) A sound heard on auscultation, often a sign of disease: rumori cardiaci.[8]

Word family

  • rumoreggiamento
  • rumoreggiare
  • rumorio
  • rumorista
  • rumorosità
  • rumoroso
  • antirumore
  • rumorismo
  • rumoristico
  • romore
  • Latin rumor
  • French rumeur

Usage notes

Tanto rumore per nulla is still used for a fuss over nothing.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  4. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  9. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
  10. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  11. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Rumore.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/rumore. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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