sottana

Forms

sottana f (plural sottane)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian sottano (“lower, that lies beneath”), used as a noun for a garment worn underneath.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Devoto–Oli and Devoto start instead from a Vulgar Latin *subtāna (vestis), “garment of the lower layer”.^[7][8] The adjective comes from *subtānus, from Latin subtus (“below”), and Nocentini sees it as formed on the model of soprano.^[2][3][1]

Medieval Latin suttana is recorded in 1243, and sotana for a tunic at Venice and Verona in the 15th century.^[2][9][10]

The word passed into other languages: French soutane (1550, Rabelais), Spanish sotana, Portuguese sotaina and Catalan sotana, and into Sardinian suttana.^{[3][11][9][12][1]}

Earliest recorded meaning

The word appears first in the compound phrase volta-sotana, “a downward turn”, in the Proverbia super natura feminarum, and in Cielo d'Alcamo's bolta sottana.^[2][10] As a garment it is recorded in the 16th century: Zingarelli dates it to 1536, GRADIT to 1544 in Annibal Caro's letters, and DELI to Ramusio (1554–1565), for a garment worn under another.^[5][4][2]

Semantic evolution

In the late Middle Ages the sottana was a long tunic with wide sleeves, worn by men and women alike, often of fine cloth and showing beneath the outer gown or cloak.^[10][6] The clergy kept this tunic, and the word came to mean the cassock: a document of 1585 explains tunica as “commonly the sottanna”, and the DEI dates the sense to Segneri in the 17th century.^[2][9]

For women the word narrowed to the petticoat and the skirt.^[4][13] In 1863 Fanfani records sottana for a woman, with a hint of impropriety, as in getting a post per mezzo della sottana.^[2] In the 16th century it was also the name of a string of the lute or violin.^[9]

French borrowed the word as soutane in 1550 for a woman's garment.^[12] It is used for the priest's cassock from 1553–1557.^[12] English had sotane for a cassock in 1652, before taking soutane from French.^[12]

Timeline

• 1243 – Medieval Latin suttana is recorded.^[2]
• 1536 – Italian sottana is first recorded.^[5]
• 1544 – Annibal Caro uses it in his letters.^[4]
• 1550 – French soutane is recorded, in Rabelais.^[9][12]
• 1554–1565 – Giovanni Battista Ramusio uses it for an undergarment.^[2]
• 1585 – A document records sottanna for a priest's garment.^[2]
• 1652 – English sotane is recorded for a cassock.^[12]
• 1863 – Pietro Fanfani records the sense “woman”.^[2]
• 1876 – German Sottana is recorded.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Tuscany) A woman's petticoat or slip.^[4][7][5]
2. A skirt, or an underskirt: una sottana di velluto a pieghe.^[4][14][15]
3. (figurative, humorous) A woman: va dietro a ogni sottana.^[4][14][5]
4. (history) A long tunic with wide sleeves, worn by men and women in the late Middle Ages.^[4][7][6]
5. A priest's cassock.^[4][5][16]

Word family

• sottanella
• sottanina
• sottanino
• sottaniere

Related words

• sottano
• sotto
• French soutane

Usage notes

Stare attaccato alla sottana della mamma is said of a child who never leaves his mother, and of an adult too dependent on her.^[4][5] Tommaseo records the proverb accosta più la camicia che la sottana, meaning that the closest ties come first.^[13]

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 k 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 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 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 Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c 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 Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 417
9. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3564
10. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
11. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
12. ^ a b c d e f g Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
13. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
16. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli