soprano

Forms

soprano m (plural soprani)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *superānus (“situated above”), from Latin super (“above”).^[2][3][4][1] The noun for the highest voice is the adjective used as a noun.^[5][6]

The same Vulgar Latin word is French souverain, Occitan sobran and Spanish sobrano.^[3][7] Meyer-Lübke also records the word in Tuscan in the sense “ruler”.^[7] The French word was borrowed as sovrano, which was once also used as a variant of this word.^[7][8][6]

The Latin word goes back to Proto-Italic *super and Proto-Indo-European *upér (“over, above”), and is related to Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér) and Sanskrit उपरि (upári).^[1][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adjective, “that is above”, is first recorded before 1294 in Guittone d'Arezzo.^[2][4][10] The noun is first recorded for a singer with a high voice in the Canzoniere of the Visconti court (1438–1477), and for the highest female voice in Pietro Aretino (1537–1555).^[2][11]

Semantic evolution

The adjective meant “higher, upper”: Dante calls the Empyrean lo soprano edificio del mondo, and it also meant “superior in worth” (Ariosto) and “royal” (Tasso).^[5][6] It is now archaic and survives mainly in place names, in pairs with sottano “lower”, such as Petralia Soprana and Petralia Sottana in Sicily and Vicosoprano in Switzerland.^[2][4][12] In 1828 the purist Antonio Cesari tried to revive it, writing dal soprano mare al sottano for the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian, and defended the pair in a letter.^[2]

In music, Zarlino uses soprano in 1555 for the highest part of a vocal composition, and Barbaro in the 16th century for the singer of that part.^[8][13] The high parts were long sung by boys, castrati and, into the 19th century, falsettists.^[14] The usual estimate today is a range of two octaves, from middle C upward, and the voice is divided into soprano leggero (or di coloratura), soprano lirico and soprano drammatico.^[6][4] Mezzosoprano, the voice between soprano and contralto, followed in the first half of the 18th century.^[3] Later still the word came to describe an instrument with the highest range in its family.^[4][5]

The musical term became international.^[3] German has Sopran from 1712, French soprano from 1703, and English soprano from 1730.^[11][8]

Timeline

• Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses the adjective soprano “upper”.^[2]
• 1438–1477 – The noun is used for a singer in the Canzoniere of the Visconti court.^[2][11]
• 1537–1555 – Pietro Aretino uses soprano for the highest female voice.^[2]
• 1555 – Zarlino uses it for the highest part of a vocal composition.^[8]
• 1634 – Soprana, a long overgarment, is recorded in Niccolò Villani.^[2]
• 1703 – French soprano is first recorded.^[11]
• 1712 – German Sopran is first recorded.^[11]
• 1730 – English soprano is first recorded.^[11][8]
• 1828 – Antonio Cesari defends his revival of the adjective in a letter.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (music) The highest register of the human voice, of women and of boys: Ha una voce di soprano.^[4][6][12]
2. (music) A singer with such a voice; the masculine is usual even for a woman, though la soprano is also heard.^[4][5][6]
3. (music) Placed after the noun and invariable, of an instrument whose range in its family matches the soprano voice: sassofono soprano.^[4][5][10]

Adjective

1. (archaic) Situated higher, upper; still used in place names, in contrast with sottano.^[4][5][10]
2. (archaic, figurative) superior in quality or worth.^[4][5][6]
3. (archaic) Of the sovereign, royal.^[4][5][6]

Word family

• mezzosoprano
• soprana
• sopranino
• sopranista
• sopraneggiare

Related words

• sovrano
• sopra
• sottano
• Latin super
• French souverain

Usage notes

The kinds of voice are soprano leggero (also di agilità or di coloratura), soprano lirico and soprano drammatico;^[4][6][5] chiave di soprano is the C clef on the first line of the staff.^[4][6][5] The singer is usually il soprano even when a woman, but the feminine article is also used in ordinary speech.^[6][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
7. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c d e f Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
12. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca