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spiegazione

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word spiegazione

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
before 1653, Luigi Giuglaris
Ultimate origin
Latin plicō

Pronunciation

  • /spje.ɡatˈt͡sjo.ne/[1]

Forms

spiegazione f (plural spiegazioni)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from spiegare “to explain” with the suffix -zione, on the model of Latin explicātiō (“unfolding; explanation”).[2][3][4][1] GRADIT gives the Latin noun as the source directly.[5] The verb is the popular outcome of Latin explicō (“to unfold, untangle; explain”), a compound of ex- and plicō (“to fold”).[6][2][1] The learned forms of the same Latin words are esplicare and esplicazione.[1][2] Körting notes that only Italian has the noun in a popular form; elsewhere it is a learned word, as in French explication.[7]

De Vaan, as Wiktionary reports him, takes plicō as probably a back-formation from compounds, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- (“to plait”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Luigi Giuglaris, before 1653, for the explaining of what is hard to understand.[6] GRADIT dates the word to 1687 and Nocentini and Devoto–Oli to the 17th century.[5][2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th century the word took on the sense of an account of one's own or another's thoughts about words or deeds that had been misunderstood;[6] DELI records it before 1806 in Carlo Gozzi.[6] From this comes the modern spiegazione between people who disagree, a clarifying talk.[5][3] Manzoni uses the verb spiegarsi for coming to such an explanation with Lucia.[6] Today the word also means a teacher's explanation, a reason or cause, and written instructions.[5][4]

Timeline

  • Before 1653 – Luigi Giuglaris uses spiegazione.[6]
  • 1687 – GRADIT's date for the word.[5]
  • Before 1806 – Carlo Gozzi uses it for clearing up a misunderstanding.[6]
  • 1825–1827 – Manzoni uses spiegarsi “to come to an explanation”.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An explanation, the making clear of something obscure or difficult: Non ho capito, mi serve una spiegazione più semplice.[5][3][4]
  2. An exposition of a subject, especially a teacher's: la spiegazione della lezione.[5][4]
  3. (usually plural) Instructions for use: Leggi le spiegazioni prima di montare il mobile.[5][4]
  4. A reason, cause or justification: Non trovo una spiegazione al suo silenzio.[5][3][4]
  5. A clarifying talk between people in disagreement: Abbiamo avuto una spiegazione e ora siamo di nuovo amici.[5][3]
  • spiegare
  • spiegabile
  • esplicazione
  • Latin explicātiō

Usage notes

Esigere or pretendere una spiegazione is to demand an explanation, and venire a una spiegazione con qualcuno to have it out with someone.[5][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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 d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
Cite this entry

“Spiegazione.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/spiegazione. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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