spione

Forms

spione m (plural spioni, feminine spiona)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian spia + -one, an augmentative of “spy”, according to Nocentini and DELI;^[2][3][4][1] GRADIT derives it from the verb spiare (“to spy”) with the same suffix.^[2][3][4][1] Devoto–Oli, Sabatini–Coletti, Treccani and Gabrielli refer it, through the noun for “spy”, to Frankish *spehō (“spy”), and Wiktionary sets up Vulgar Latin *spiō from that Frankish word.^{[5][6][7][8][1]}

Spia and spiare are Germanic loans, but their source is disputed: Gamillscheg and Corominas derived them from reconstructed Gothic forms, and Wartburg from Frankish *spehōn (“to spy”), through Old French espier and espie.^[3] Nocentini compares Old High German speha (“exploration”) and speho (“scout”).^[2] The words go back to Proto-Germanic *spehōną (“to see, look”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Latin of medieval Italy has spiones “spies” at Costozza in 1290.^[3] The Italian plural spioni is in the Cronica of the Anonimo romano, in the middle of the 14th century;^[3][9] DELI notes that the line of Iacopone quoted by the Crusca and later dictionaries comes from a lauda wrongly attributed to him.^[3][9] Nocentini, GRADIT and Battisti–Alessio date the word to the 13th century, and the GDLI quotes the Storie de Troia e de Roma: Levinus mannao spioni ne l'oste de Pirro (“Laevinus sent spies into the camp of Pyrrhus”).^{[2][4][10][11]}

Semantic evolution

Originally the word meant a spy in the service of a state, the same as spia; in modern use it has become strongly pejorative.^[11][7] Old Italian also had the adverbial phrase a spione, “in the manner of spies”.^[10][9] Today it names chiefly a person who habitually tells tales about others to superiors, out of spite, envy or self-interest, and by extension a snoop.^[4][7]

According to Battisti and Alessio the word passed into French and Spanish in the 16th century and into German in 1615.^[10] French espion is recorded from the late 13th century, and the French dictionaries think its -s- was restored about 1500 under Italian influence;^[12] German Spion dates from about 1600, and English spion (1615) may come from French, Spanish or Italian.^[12] Wiktionary also lists Portuguese espião, Turkish ispiyon and Modern Greek σπιούνος (spioúnos) as borrowings.^[1]

Timeline

• 1290 – Medieval Latin spiones is recorded at Costozza.^[3]
• 13th century – The word appears in Italian.^[2][4]
• Mid-14th century – The Anonimo romano writes spioni.^[3]
• About 1500 – French espion takes its -s-, probably under Italian influence.^[12]
• About 1600 – German Spion is recorded.^[12]
• 1615 – English spion is recorded.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. (dated or derogatory) A spy.^[4][13][7]
2. A telltale or sneak: someone who habitually reports other people's faults or secrets, out of spite, envy or self-interest: non dirle niente, è una spiona.^{[4][6][5][14]}
3. By extension, someone who secretly watches what others do, a snoop or peeper.^[4][1]

Word family

• spioncino
• spioncello
• spioneggiare
• spionare

Related words

• spia
• spiare
• spionaggio
• French espion

Usage notes

The feminine is spiona.^[5][6][1] Fare lo spione means to tell tales.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
8. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
9. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3594
11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 19, 932
12. ^ a b c d e Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
13. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana