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Etymology and origin of the Italian word test

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1766, Saverio Bettinelli
Borrowed from
English test
Ultimate origin
Latin testum
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English test
Italian test

Pronunciation

Forms

test m (invariable)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English test, an unadapted loan.[2][3][4][1] The English word comes from Old French test (“pot”), from Latin testum (“earthenware pot, lid”), the same word as Italian testo in the sense of an earthenware dish.[3][4][5][6] In English (from 1386) it first meant the earthenware vessel in which alchemists assayed the purity of gold; psychologists took it up around 1890, after James McKeen Cattell, for a question that measures intelligence.[2][7][8]

Bruno Migliorini and the psychologist Sante De Sanctis proposed reattivo instead, and the adaptation “testo” was also suggested, but the short English word resisted every replacement.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word to 1766, in Saverio Bettinelli's Lettere inglesi, where a self-satisfied provincial poet becomes il test delle lettere, the touchstone of literature.[4][8]

Semantic evolution

The modern use begins at the end of the 19th century: Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date it to 1895, when an encyclopaedia used it for a trial or assay.[3][5][2] The psychological test is recorded in 1914 (Tanzi and Lugaro), and in 1940 Jacono complained of this “blatant Anglicism”.[2][8] From 1960 it also names an exam question with only one correct answer, and test attitudinali “aptitude tests” are recorded in 1963.[2]

Today it is used for any trial or experiment, from nuclear tests to pregnancy tests and statistical tests.[4][9] The verb testare is recorded in 1973, and tester, from the English verb, in 1940.[3]

Timeline

  • 1766 – Saverio Bettinelli uses test for a standard of comparison.[4][8]
  • 1895 – It is used for a trial in an encyclopaedia.[2][3]
  • 1914 – Tanzi and Lugaro use it for a psychological test.[2]
  • 1940 – Tester is recorded.[3]
  • 1942 – Migliorini proposes reattivo in its place.[2]
  • 1960 – It is used for an exam question with one right answer.[2]
  • 1973 – The verb testare is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A test, trial or experiment to assess something: un test sulla qualità dell'acqua.[4][9][6]
  2. (psychology) A standardized test of a person's mental abilities, aptitudes or personality.[4][5][10]
  3. An examination made of a series of questions, each with several answers of which only one is right: il test d'ingresso all'università.[4][5][9]
  4. (medicine) A diagnostic test: test di gravidanza.[4][5][6]
  5. (statistics) A procedure for accepting or rejecting a hypothesis from a sample.[4]
  6. (figurative) A trial of someone's worth: le elezioni regionali saranno un test per la maggioranza.[9][10]

Word family

  • testare
  • tester

Usage notes

The word is invariable: un test, due test.[1][5] Treccani records an uncommon adapted form teste.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3772
  8. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  9. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  10. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli

Related etymologies

  • ok · also from English
  • dollaro · also from English
  • film · also from English
  • camera · also from English
  • detective · also from English
  • video · also from English
  • club · also from English
  • sexy · also from English
Cite this entry

“Test.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/test. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·