trono

Forms

trono m (plural troni)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin thronus (“chair of state, throne”), a learned word that came in through literature.^[2][3][4][5] The Latin noun is from Ancient Greek θρόνος (thrónos, “seat, throne”), which in the language of the Empire replaced solium (whence soglio).^[6][7][1] The word was much used in the translations of the Bible, and the plural for one of the orders of angels comes from them, through Church Latin Throni.^[2][5]

The same Latin word gave French trône, Spanish trono and Catalan tron, while Old French tron and Old Occitan tron meant “canopy of heaven”.^[8][3][9] DEI calls the Italian and western Romance forms half-learned.^[6] The Greek noun is of Indo-European origin;^[3][2][6] Nocentini derives it from an earlier sense “supporting board”, and DEI compares Ancient Greek θρᾶνος (thrânos, “footstool”).^[3][2][6] Greek already had the verb Ancient Greek θρονίζω (thronízō), and Italian troneggiare is formed in Italian with the suffix -eggiare.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Lombard Istoria of Pseudo-Uguccione, from the first half of the 13th century.^[10] DELI cites Giacomino da Verona from the same century.^[2] The sense is the raised seat on which a sovereign sits on solemn occasions.^[10][2]

Semantic evolution

By about 1292 Bono Giamboni used the plural for the angelic order of the Thrones, and by about 1336 Boccaccio used the word for royal power itself.^[2] Old Italian also used it for the seat of a judge and for the seat of God, Christ or the Virgin in pictures of the heavenly court.^[10] Giovanni Villani describes Louis of Bavaria seated “upon a rich raised throne” (sopra uno ricco trono rilevato).^[11][12]

From the throne as a symbol, the word came to stand for the monarchy as an institution, as in the phrase il trono e l'altare, the crown and the Church.^[4][13] Modern colloquial Italian jokingly calls the toilet seat il trono.^[14][15][16] The verb troneggiare “to sit enthroned” is recorded from 1891, and later “to tower over everything around”.^[2]

Timeline

• 13th century, first half – The Istoria of Pseudo-Uguccione has the first record.^[10]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses the plural for the angelic order of the Thrones.^[2]
• c. 1336 – Boccaccio uses trono for the authority of a sovereign.^[2]
• 14th century – Giovanni Villani describes an emperor seated on a raised throne.^[11][6]
• 14th century – Intronizzare, from Church Latin, is recorded.^[3]
• Before 1737 – Detronizzare is recorded.^[3]
• 1891 – Troneggiare appears in Petrocchi's dictionary.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A throne: the raised and often canopied seat of a king, emperor or pope on solemn occasions: la sala del trono (the throne room).^{[4][14][15][1]}
2. The seat on which a god, Christ or the Virgin is shown sitting, especially in paintings: una Madonna in trono.^[4][14]
3. (figurative) Royal power or dignity: salire al trono (to come to the throne), l'erede al trono (the heir to the throne).^[4][14][16]
4. The monarchy as an institution.^[4][16]
5. (colloquial, humorous) The toilet seat.^[14][15][16]
6. (theology, in the plural, often capitalised) The Thrones, one of the nine orders of angels.^[4][15][16]

Word family

• troneggiare
• intronizzare
• intronizzazione
• detronizzare
• detronizzazione
• tronetto

Related words

• soglio
• Latin thronus
• Ancient Greek θρόνος (thrónos)
• French trône

Usage notes

An obsolete trono (also truono) meant “thunder” or “thunderbolt”: it is formed from the old verb tronare “to thunder”, a variant of tuono, and Dante uses it.^[4][17][3] Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti instead trace it to a Vulgar Latin *tronus, from *tronitus, a variant of Latin tonitrus (“thunder”).^[14][15] A third trono was a Venetian coin bearing the likeness of the doge Niccolò Tron (1473).^[11][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 k l 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 1019
6. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3915
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
10. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
11. ^ 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. 21, 408
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ 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
15. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
16. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
17. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)