stronzata

Forms

stronzata f (plural stronzate)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian stronzo + -ata, from the noun in its insulting sense, a stupid or despicable person.^[2][3][4][1] The noun first meant a piece of solid excrement and is borrowed from Lombardic *strunz (“dung”); the insult spread from Rome, and DELI cites Zolli's view that Roman took it from the South, perhaps from Sicilian strunzu “worthless man”, recorded in Sicily in the 19th century.^[5][3] Nocentini compares Dutch stront and traces French étron to the corresponding Frankish word.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT and Zingarelli date the word to 1961, in Ugo Simonetta's Lo sbarbato, where a brother begs someone di non dir stronzate (not to talk rubbish); Nocentini, Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti give 1978.^{[2][4][6][3][7][8]}

Semantic evolution

The word first named stupid or spiteful talk and behaviour, the kind of thing a stronzo says or does.^[2][7][9] From there it extended to anything badly made or worthless, such as a poor film, and to trivial objects or an easy task.^[2][7][4] The GDLI quotes Paolo Volponi and Alberto Arbasino for it, in Arbasino's case for money squandered on trifles (Sono stati spesi in stronzate).^[6] All the dictionaries mark it as vulgar.^[2][7][9]

Timeline

• 1961 – Ugo Simonetta uses stronzate in Lo sbarbato.^[2][6]
• 1967 – The related stronzaggine is recorded.^[3]
• 1978 – Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date stronzata.^[3][7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (vulgar) Stupid or nasty talk or behaviour, nonsense, bullshit: Smettila di raccontare stronzate.^[2][7][1]
2. (vulgar) Something badly done or worthless: Quel romanzo è una stronzata.^[2][7][4]
3. (vulgar) A trifle, something of no importance; an easy task.^[2][7]

Related words

• stronzo
• stronzaggine

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
8. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana