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sbaglio

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word sbaglio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1666, Francesco Redi

Pronunciation

  • /ˈzbaʎ.ʎo/[1]

Forms

sbaglio m (plural sbagli)[1] An older form with a prop vowel, isbaglio, survives in the disused phrase per isbaglio.[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is a noun formed from the verb sbagliare (“to make a mistake”) with the ending -o.[4][5][6][1]

The verb is probably abbagliare (“to dazzle”) with its prefix replaced by s-.[4][5][6] Nocentini notes that it first appeared, about 1440, in the reflexive form, meaning “to be deceived by a false impression”.[5] The base of the verb meaning “to dazzle” is that of bagliore (“glare, flash”), whose origin is disputed: Nocentini derives it from Vulgar Latin *balius, from Ancient Greek βαλιός (baliós, “dappled with white”), while the LEI, as DELI reports, prefers a pre-Roman word for “shining”, perhaps Celtic.[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Francesco Redi, in 1666, for the act of making a mistake.[4][6][2] In his notes to the Bacco in Toscana he writes of another author “parmi che egli prendesse uno sbaglio” (it seems to me he made a mistake).[7]

Semantic evolution

The sense of a moral fault is recorded before 1750 in Lodovico Antonio Muratori.[4] Tommaseo distinguished the word from its neighbours: an errore is usually more than a sbaglio, which may come from haste or a moment's distraction, while a sproposito comes from thoughtlessness joined with ignorance.[7] He also records a rarer sense “difference”, in Fagiuoli's line “da un grillo a me v'è poco sbaglio” (there is little difference between a cricket and me).[7]

The phrase per isbaglio, “by mistake”, is found in Vincenzo Borghini and Carducci, and the GDLI also records the noun for a postal mix-up.[8] Today sbaglio covers mistakes in doing something or in speaking and writing, errors of judgment, mix-ups of one person or thing for another, and faults of conduct.[6][9][10]

Timeline

  • About 1440 – The verb sbagliare is first recorded, in the reflexive form.[5]
  • 1666 – Francesco Redi uses sbaglio.[4][6]
  • Before 1750 – Lodovico Antonio Muratori uses it for a moral fault.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A mistake made in doing something, in a calculation, or in speaking or writing: Ho trovato tre sbagli nella tua traduzione.[6][9][3]
  2. An error of judgment; an unwise choice: È stato uno sbaglio fidarmi di lui.[6][9][11]
  3. A mix-up of one person or thing for another: Scusi, è stato uno sbaglio: cercavo un altro numero.[6][10][3]
  4. A moral fault, usually not a grave one: Ha pagato caro uno sbaglio di gioventù.[6][9][2]

Usage notes

Per sbaglio means “by mistake, unintentionally”.[6][9][2] The GDLI records a separate, obsolete sbaglio “hiccup, yawn”, formed from sbadigliare by haplology.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 17, 625
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
Cite this entry

“Sbaglio.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/sbaglio. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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