studioso

Forms

studioso (feminine studiosa, masculine plural studiosi, feminine plural studiose)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin studiōsus (“eager, zealous; devoted to study”).^[2][3][4][1] The Latin adjective is formed studium (“zeal, application; study”) with the suffix -ōsus.^[5][1][6] The Latin word already meant both “eager, zealous” and “given to study”.^[6][7]

The noun studio comes from the same Latin noun.^[3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Bono Giamboni's Vizi e virtudi, before 1292, where the word means “attentive, solicitous, zealous”.^[2] Nocentini also dates the first sense, “desirous”, to the second half of the 13th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The old sense of eagerness lived on in literature: Dante speaks of hounds that are magre, studïose e conte (lean, eager and well trained), where the word means “greedy, keen”.^[4][9] The modern dictionaries mark this sense as literary or obsolete.^[8][7][9]

The sense “devoted to study” is quoted in the GDLI from Chiaro Davanzati and Dante's Convivio, whose gente studiosa are people given to learning.^[10] DELI dates it to 1558, in a translation from G. Choul, and the school sense “who studies diligently” only to the Rigutini–Fanfani dictionary of 1875.^[2] As a noun, “a person devoted to study, a scholar”, the word is found in Dante's Convivio, where the lover of wisdom is called a studioso in sapienza, and in A. Caro before 1566.^[10][2] In current Italian the noun is chiefly a scholar or researcher in a given field, and GRADIT dates its use from the second half of the 13th century.^[4][7]

Timeline

• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses studioso for “zealous, solicitous”.^[2]
• 1558 – The sense “devoted to study” is recorded in a translation from G. Choul.^[2]
• Before 1566 – A. Caro uses studioso as a noun, “scholar”.^[2]
• 1875 – The Rigutini–Fanfani dictionary records the sense “who studies with diligence”.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. studious: applying oneself to study with care and commitment, said especially of pupils.^[4][8][7]
2. (literary) Eager, solicitous, zealous for something; in Dante also greedy, keen.^[4][9][8]

Noun

1. A scholar: a person devoted to research or study, especially in a given field: uno studioso di letteratura medievale.^[4][7][9]

Word family

• studiosamente

Related words

• studio
• studiare
• studente
• Latin studium

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
7. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
10. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 20, 422