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stupendo

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word stupendo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
before 1342, Domenico Cavalca
Borrowed from
Latin stupendus
Ultimate origin
Latin stupeō

Pronunciation

  • /stuˈpɛn.do/[1]

Forms

stupendo (feminine stupenda, masculine plural stupendi, feminine plural stupende)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin stupendus (“to be wondered at”), the gerundive of stupeō (“to be stunned, amazed”).[2][3][4][5][6] DEI cites the Latin adjective from Valerius Maximus, and Devoto calls it Late Latin.[7][8] It belongs with stupire and is matched by Piedmontese stupend.[9][10][1]

De Vaan derives the Latin verb from Proto-Italic *stup-ē- (“to be stunned”) and Proto-Indo-European *stup-eh₁- (“to hit, push”), so that being “struck” became being dazed and amazed; the same root is in Ancient Greek τύπτω (túptō, “to strike”).[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Domenico Cavalca's Pisan translation of the Dialogues of Saint Gregory (before 1342), in the sense “that causes deep wonder”, for its strangeness or unexpected effects.[6] DELI dates the word to the 14th-century Italian Imitation of Christ.[9]

Semantic evolution

In the older language stupendo described what astonishes, good or bad: a miracle, a war, a strange event.[12][13] Boiardo announced “the most stupendous war” ever told, and Ariosto's water nymph boasts that she can do cose stupende and force nature.[12] Tommaseo–Bellini recorded a second sense, “excellent”.[13]

The modern word is above all about beauty: it says that something is so beautiful as to leave one amazed, and by hyperbole it is simply “very beautiful”.[2][3][14] In colloquial replies it expresses keen approval.[2] English borrowed stupend from it in 1621.[7]

Timeline

  • Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses stupendo.[6]
  • 14th century – It appears in the Italian Imitation of Christ.[9]
  • 1621 – English stupend is recorded.[7]
  • 1741 – The noun stupendità is recorded, in Lorenzo Bellini.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. stupendous, wonderful: so beautiful that it fills one with wonder: Dalla terrazza si vedeva un mare stupendo.[2][3][4]
  2. (hyperbolic) Very beautiful, very fine: Abbiamo passato una serata stupenda.[2][14][15]
  3. (colloquial) As a reply, expressing enthusiastic approval: Vieni anche tu? — Stupendo![2]

Word family

  • stupendamente
  • stupendità

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  5. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  7. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3664
  8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  12. ^ 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, 427
  13. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  14. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Stupendo.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/stupendo. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·