successo

Forms

successo m (plural successi)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin successus (“a coming up; course; good outcome”), a noun formed on the past participle of succēdō (“to come up; follow; turn out well”).^[2][3][4][1] It is a learned word.^[5] The Latin verb is sub- (“under, up to”) and cēdō (“to go”).^[6]

The same Latin noun gave French succès and Spanish suceso “event”.^[2] The sense “success, favourable reception” owes something to the French word: DEI calls the use since the 18th century a gallicism, and the GDLI compares the French word for the modern senses.^[7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Domenico Cavalca, before 1342, uses it for an event or for a succession of events in time: he writes of a continuo successo di prosperità, an unbroken run of prosperity, and per successo di tempo, “in the course of time”.^[8][9][5]

Semantic evolution

Until the middle of the 17th century successo meant “event” or “outcome”, often with a qualifier such as buono or felice, or cattivo for a bad one;^[8] Machiavelli uses it for “outcome” in 1504.^[8] The absolute use for a happy outcome appears in Giovanni Della Casa before 1556, but it remains isolated: it spread first in the language of historians and diplomats and then, in the 18th century, into common Italian.^[8]

In modern Italian the word means success and public acclaim, and also a hit record or a best-selling book; the old sense “outcome” is now rare.^[3][10][1] The opposite insuccesso “failure” is recorded from 1869.^[2]

Timeline

• Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses successo for an event.^[8]
• 1504 – Machiavelli uses it for “outcome, result”.^[8]
• Before 1556 – Giovanni Della Casa uses it for a favourable outcome.^[8]
• 18th century – “Success” becomes the common meaning.^[8][7]
• 1869 – Insuccesso is first recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. success: a favourable outcome: L'operazione si è conclusa con successo.^[3][4][1]
2. Public approval or acclaim, and the fame of someone who has it: il successo di critica di un film.^[3][4]
3. A work or product that has won public favour, a hit: i successi musicali dell'estate.^[3][10][1]
4. A win in a sporting competition.^[3][4]
5. (uncommon) Outcome, result, good or bad.^[3][10]
6. (literary, rare) An event, in successo di tempo: in the course of time.^[11][12]

Word family

• insuccesso
• successone

Related words

• succedere
• successione
• successivo
• successore

Usage notes

Successo is also the past participle of succedere “to happen”, as in Che cosa è successo? “What happened?”.^[3][11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ 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
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 20, 477
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 431
7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3669
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana