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stamattina

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word stamattina

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1348–1353, Boccaccio
Ultimate origins
Italian 'staLatin matutinus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin matutinus
Italian mattina
Italian stamattina

Pronunciation

  • /sta.matˈti.na/[1]

Etymology

It is the phrase ⟨(que)sta mattina⟩ written as one word: from Italian 'sta (“this”) + mattina (“morning”), with ⟨sta⟩, a shortened form of questa.[2][3][4][5][6][1] GRADIT explains it as stamane with mattina put in place of its second part, and DELI compares the older word.[7][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI and GRADIT date the first record to Boccaccio's Decameron (1348–1353): “Di questo di stamattina sarò io tenuto a voi” (I shall be in your debt for this morning's deed).[2][7][8] Zingarelli has an earlier date, about 1336.[9]

Semantic evolution

Berni and Redi used the word in the 16th and 17th centuries, and Tommaseo defined it simply as stamane.[8] It still means only “this morning”, and is used with prepositions such as da and per.[9][7]

Timeline

  • About 1336 – Zingarelli's date of first record.[9]
  • 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses stamattina in the Decameron.[2][8]
  • 16th century – Berni uses it in his Orlando innamorato.[8]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. this morning, in the morning of today: Stamattina ho perso l'autobus.[7][4][5][1]
  2. With a preposition, as a noun: Ti aspetto da stamattina.[7][9]

Usage notes

Stamani and stamane are synonyms.[5][9][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b 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 c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  7. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b c d e Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
Cite this entry

“Stamattina.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/stamattina. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·