Etymologically
Log in

speranza

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 21:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /speˈran.t͡sa/[1]

Forms

speranza f (plural speranze)[1] Old forms include speranqa and speransa.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *spērantia, a noun formed from spērāns (“hoping”), the present participle of Latin spērō (“to hope”).[3][4][5][6] DEI and GRADIT give the Latin noun as Late Latin.[7][8] Treccani, Sabatini–Coletti and the GDLI derive the Italian word instead from Old Occitan esperansa (and Old French esperance), the noun of esperar (“to hope”), and GRADIT compares the Old Occitan noun too.[9][10][2][8] Wiktionary also allows a formation in Italian from sperare with the suffix -anza.[1]

The same word is French espérance, Spanish esperanza and Portuguese esperança;[11][1] French also has espoir and Spanish espera beside it.[11][1]

The Latin verb comes from spēs (“hope”), which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *spéh₁s (“prosperity”), from a root meaning “to succeed, prosper” also found in Old Church Slavonic спѣти (spěti, “to succeed”) and Old English spōwan (“to prosper”).[12][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun is first recorded before 1250 in Giacomo da Lentini, for the confident expectation of something in which one's good lies, or which one wishes to happen as one desires.[13][8]

Semantic evolution

Before 1292 Bono Giamboni's Vizi e virtù uses the word for one of the three theological virtues, beside faith and charity.[13] From before 1348, in Francesco da Barberino, it also names the person or thing in which one places one's hope.[13] In the first canto of the Inferno the she-wolf so frightens Dante that he loses “the hope of the height” (ch'io perdei la speranza de l'altezza), and the gate of Hell bears the line Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate “Abandon all hope, you who enter”.[2][9]

The sense of a young person whose first results, chiefly in sport or the arts, promise success is recorded from before 1910 in Carlo Dossi.[13][8] Proverbs say finché c'è vita c'è speranza “while there is life there is hope” and la speranza è l'ultima a morire “hope is the last to die”, and green is il colore della speranza “the colour of hope”.[4][9][14] In popular botany Tuscan speranze and Venetian and Trentino speranzine name kinds of pink.[7]

Timeline

  • Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses speranza for confident expectation.[13][8]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for the theological virtue.[13]
  • Before 1348 – Francesco da Barberino uses it for a person or thing one hopes in.[13]
  • Before 1910 – Carlo Dossi uses it for a promising young person.[13]

Meanings

Noun

  1. hope: the confident expectation that something desired will happen or be achieved: Partirono con la speranza di trovare lavoro all'estero.[8][4][10][14][1]
  2. (theology) One of the three theological virtues, with fede and carità: the confident expectation of eternal life and of the help of grace.[8][10][9]
  3. Something hoped for, an aspiration: Con quella sconfitta svanirono tutte le loro speranze.[4][10][14]
  4. A person or thing in which one places one's hopes: Quel prestito è ormai la nostra unica speranza.[8][9][5]
  5. A young person whose early results in an activity, especially sport or the arts, promise success: una giovane speranza del nuoto.[8][10][9]
  6. (statistics) In speranza di vita, life expectancy.[4][14]
  7. (in the plural) A pink with flowers in clusters.[8]

Word family

  • speranzoso

Usage notes

Di belle speranze describes a young person with a promising future, and oltre ogni speranza means “beyond all expectation”.[8][14][9] The ancora di speranza is a ship's spare anchor, kept ready for emergencies.[14][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3585
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  10. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  12. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  14. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli