sudore

Forms

sudore m (plural sudori)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin sūdor (“sweat”).^[2][3][4][1] Nocentini, GRADIT and the OLD derive the Latin noun from sūdō (“to sweat”).^[3][4][5] The word is pan-Romance: French sueur, Occitan suzor, Catalan suhor, Spanish sudor, Portuguese suor, Sardinian suòre and Romanian sudoare.^[3][6]

De Vaan sees it the other way round: the verb was formed on a noun *swoido- (“sweat”), and the noun either goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sweyd- (“to sweat”) with an s-stem, if the root vowel changed as Rix assumed, or took over the stem of the verb.^[7][1] Its cognates include Ancient Greek ἱδρώς (hidrṓs), Welsh chwys, Old High German sweiz and Old English swāt, the source of sweat.^[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini and GRADIT date the first record to before 1313;^[3][4][2] DELI's first is Dante, before 1321, with the sense “sweat”.^[3][4][2] Zingarelli dates it to about 1270.^[8] In the Inferno Dante says that the memory of his fright still bathes him in sweat: dello spavento la mente di sudor ancor mi bagna.^[9][10]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense “toil, hard work” is recorded in the 14th century, in the Collazione dei santi padri.^[2] The phrase col sudore della fronte “by the sweat of one's brow” echoes the words God speaks to Adam in Genesis 3:19, and the plural sudori is often used for one's efforts.^[11] Boccaccio already has the sudor freddo, the cold sweat of fear or illness.^[9]

Learned derivatives came later: sudorifero “sweat-inducing” (1681), sudoriparo “sweat-producing” (1891), probably through English sudoriparous (1851), and sudorazione “sweating” (1913).^[2] An older sense, the fluid that a plant organ exudes, is now obsolete.^[4][8]

Timeline

• Before 1313 – Sudore is first recorded.^[3][4]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses the word in the Inferno.^[2]
• 14th century – The figurative sense “toil” appears.^[2]
• 1681 – Giuseppe Del Papa uses sudorifero.^[2]
• 1851 – English sudoriparous is recorded.^[2]
• 1891 – Sudoriparo is recorded.^[2][3]
• 1913 – Sudorazione is recorded in a medical title.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. sweat, perspiration: the salty liquid secreted by the sweat glands onto the skin: Dopo la corsa aveva la maglia fradicia di sudore.^{[4][12][13][8][14]}
2. (figurative) Hard work, toil: col sudore della fronte.^{[4][12][13][8][14]}
3. (botany, obsolete) A fluid exuded by a plant organ.^[4][8]

Word family

• sudorazione
• sudorifero
• sudoriparo
• sudorino
• antisudore

Related words

• sudare
• trasudare
• Latin sūdor
• French sueur

Usage notes

Sudore freddo is a cold sweat from illness or emotion, and figuratively great anxiety.^[12][8][14] Essere in un bagno di sudore means to be drenched in sweat.^[4][14] The diminutives are sudoretto and, more often, sudorino.^[8][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
11. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
12. ^ 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
13. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana