signorina

Forms

signorina f (plural signorine, masculine signorino, masculine plural signorini)^[1]

Etymology

It is a diminutive, from Italian signora + -ina, formed from the word for a lady.^[2][3][4][1] That noun is the feminine of signore, which continues inherited from Latin senior (“older”) through its accusative.^[4] In the early Middle Ages the Latin word, which had named men between about 45 and 60, came to mean a man of rank, a notable or master, because the king's council was made up of men of that age.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Settimanni's chronicle of 1605, where the word means a young woman of good family not yet married.^[5][2] The passage tells how four of the court's ladies left Pisa with the Medici children, una lettiga per due di quelle signorine “a litter for two of those young ladies”.^[6] DEI and Tommaseo cite Francesco Redi, also in the 17th century, for a young woman of a noble family.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

At first the word applied to unmarried women of high social rank.^[9][2] It was used as a title of respect for an unmarried woman, before her name or on its own, by 1837 in the Milanese press, and the sense “unmarried woman” of any age (è ancora signorina) is recorded by Zingarelli in 1922.^[5]

Italian soldiers of 1915–1918 used the word in slang for a kind of bomb also called ballerina, and at Lucca it named a silkworm that produces no silk.^[7] Devoto–Oli notes that as a title it is now often replaced by signora, and in the sense “unmarried woman” by English single or the bureaucratic nubile.^[3] Derogatory uses for a weak or effeminate man, and a euphemistic one for a prostitute in a brothel, are recorded as well.^[2][3] English borrowed signorina as a title by 1820.^[10]

Timeline

• 1605 – Settimanni's chronicle has the first record, for young women of the Medici court.^[5][2]
• 17th century – Francesco Redi uses the word in a medical consultation.^[7][8]
• 1820 – The word is recorded in English.^[10]
• 1837 – It is used as a title for an unmarried woman in the Milanese press.^[5]
• 1915–1918 – Soldiers' slang uses it for a type of bomb.^[7]
• 1922 – Zingarelli records the sense “unmarried woman”.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A title of courtesy for an unmarried woman, used before her name or on its own, like English Miss (abbreviated sig.na): Buonasera, signorina, posso aiutarla?^[2][3][11]
2. A young woman who is not yet married.^[2][3][12]
3. A woman who has never married, also one no longer young.^[2][11][12]
4. A girl who has reached puberty.^[2][11] Diventare signorina is a euphemism for having one's first period.^[2][3][11]
5. (colloquial) Said playfully of a little girl: La signorina oggi non vuole fare il bagno.^[3][11][12]
6. (derogatory) A weak or effeminate man.^[2][3] Da signorine, per signorine: not demanding or tough, said of a job or a sport.^[2][3][12]
7. (slang, euphemistic) A prostitute in a brothel.^[2]
8. (zoology) A damselfish of the genus Pomacentrus, named for its grace and bright colours.^[2][13]

Word family

• signorinella
• signorinetta

Related words

• signora
• signore
• signorino

Usage notes

Signorina buonasera was the playful name for a woman who announced the programmes on Italian television.^[14][2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 h i 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 18
7. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3494
8. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
10. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
11. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
12. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli