Etymology and origin of the Italian word sissignore
Etymology tree
From the same root
Pronunciation
- /ˌsis.siɲˈɲo.re/[1]
Forms
sissignore (also written separately, sì signore); addressing a woman sissignora, addressing several people sissignori.[2][3][4]
Etymology
It is the phrase “yes, sir” written as one word: from Italian sì (“yes”) + signore (“sir, lord”).[5][6][7][1] The spelling reflects the doubling of the second word's initial /s/ in pronunciation.[3][8] Because the noun is a vocative, its second part can agree with the person addressed in gender and number.[8][3] DELI compares the negative counterpart nossignore.[5]
The first part continues Latin sīc (“thus”), from the elliptical phrase sīc est (“it is so”).[6] The second continues the comparative Latin senior (“older”), which became a title of respect in the early Middle Ages.[6]
Earliest recorded meaning
GRADIT dates the ironic, emphatic use to before 1815.[7] DELI's first record is in Camillo Cavour, who died in 1861, as a respectful “yes” to a superior.[5] Cavour wrote: Sissignore, il ministero avrà questo coraggio (“Yes, sir, the ministry will have this courage”).[8]
Semantic evolution
From the start the word was a polite or deferential form of sì, used above all to a superior or a person of standing.[8] It became typical of military language, the soldier's “yes, sir” on receiving an order.[7][9][1]
Used as an aside, it reinforces what the speaker has just said, often with irony or defiance: in Verga's prose a character ends a complaint with sissignore.[8][4] The feminine sissignora is used to a woman, as in Verga, though Wiktionary notes that it can sound jocular, so the masculine may be used to anyone.[8][1]
Timeline
- Before 1815 – The ironic, emphatic use is first recorded.[7][4]
- Before 1861 – Cavour uses sissignore as a respectful answer to a superior.[5][8]
- 1891 – Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the word from this year.[6][9]
Meanings
Interjection
- Yes, sir: a respectful affirmative answer to a superior, especially among soldiers: Sissignore, il rapporto è pronto.[7][9][2][1]
- (ironic, emphatic) Certainly, quite so; it stresses a statement, often in defiance: Ho venduto la macchina, sissignore![7][9][4]
Related words
Usage notes
Signorsì is a synonym.[2] Treccani marks the word as not common, and gives the agreeing forms sissignori (several people) and sissignora (a woman).[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
- ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
- ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
- ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
- ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
- ^ 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, p. 19, 97
- ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
Cite this entry
“Sissignore.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/sissignore. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.
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