Italian words from Latin
1281 Italian words with Latin in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 19).
solito
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin solitus (“accustomed, usual”), the past participle of soleō (“to be accustomed”), whose Italian continuation is solere. Wiktionary treats it as inherited…
sollevare
It is inherited from Latin sublevō (“to lift up; to relieve”), made of sub- (“under, from below”) and levō (“to lift”). Meyer-Lübke records the verb only in Italian and in Menorcan sobllevar “to…
solo
It is inherited from Latin sōlus (“alone, only”); the adverb continues sōlum (“only”), the adverbial neuter of the adjective. In Old Italian, Old French and Old Occitan the adverbial form did not…
soluzione
It is borrowed from Latin solūtiō (“a loosening; payment”), a learned word. The Latin noun was formed from solūtus, the past participle of solvō (“to loosen, release; to pay”). De Vaan explains the…
sonno
It is inherited from Latin somnus (“sleep”). The word is pan-Romance: French somme, Occitan som, Catalan son, Spanish sueño, Logudorese sonnu, Romanian somn and Dalmatian samno. In Piedmontese…
sopportare
It is inherited from Latin supportāre (“to carry, convey”), which in Late Latin, among Christian writers, came to mean “to bear, endure”. The Latin verb is formed with sub- (“under”) on portō (“to…
sopra
It is inherited from Latin suprā (“above, over”). The Latin word, older suprād, was the ablative feminine of superus (“upper”) with the inner vowel lost, and that adjective was formed from super…
sopravvivere
It is inherited from Late Latin supravīvere, a Late Latin variant of Latin supervīvere (“to outlive”), with the prefix remade on sopra. Tommaseo cites the classical verb from Pliny and Apuleius, and…
sorridere
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *subrīdĕre, the classical Latin subrīdeō (“to smile”) moved from the second conjugation to the third, as ridere was. The Latin verb is formed from sub- (“under…
sospettare
It is inherited from Latin suspectō (“to look up at; to suspect”), an intensive of suspiciō (“to look up at; to look at with distrust”). Nocentini adds that it may also be the intensive of suspicor…
sospetto
1. The adjective is borrowed from Latin suspectus (“mistrusted, suspected”), the past participle of suspicere (“to look up at; to mistrust”). suspiciō is speciō (“to look”) with the prefix sub-…
sostenere
It is inherited from Latin sustineō (“to hold up, to support; to endure”). Battisti and Alessio call the verb pan-Romance, but not Romanian: the same word is French soutenir, Occitan sostener…
sotto
It is inherited from Latin subtus (“below, underneath”), an adverb formed from sub (“under”), properly “from below”. Nocentini sees in the ending a suffix of motion from a place, and the OLD…
spada
It is inherited from Latin spatha (“weaver's batten; broad sword”), a word Latin took from Ancient Greek σπάθη (spáthē, “spatula, broad blade”). The Latin word meant both the weaver's flat wooden…
sparare
It is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *exparāre (“to prepare (an animal) for cooking by gutting it”), from Latin parō (“to prepare”) with ex-. Arrigo Castellani, followed by DELI, saw in it a…
spaventare
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *expaventāre, an intensive of Latin expaveō (“to be terrified at”), which is formed from ex- and paveō (“to be frightened”). Devoto and Wiktionary derive the Vulgar…
spazio
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin spatium (“room, extent; interval”). The same Latin noun was inherited as Old Italian spazzo (“floor”), a doublet, from which the verb spazzare “to sweep”…
speciale
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin speciālis (“particular, of a species”), from speciēs (“appearance; kind, species”) with the suffix -ālis; in Latin it was opposed to generālis (“general”)…
specie
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin speciēs (“sight; outward appearance; kind”), from speciō (“to look at”). The Latin philosophers chose the word to render Ancient Greek εἶδος (eîdos), so…
spegnere
It probably continues inherited from Vulgar Latin *expingere (“to discolour, wipe out”), from ex- (“out”) and pingō (“to colour, paint”). The meaning “put out a fire” is usually explained by the…
speranza
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *spērantia, a noun formed from spērāns (“hoping”), the present participle of Latin spērō (“to hope”). DEI and GRADIT give the Latin noun as Late Latin. Treccani…
sperare
It is inherited from Latin spērō (“to hope, look forward to”), a verb formed from the noun spēs (“hope”). The Latin verb lives on in the western Romance languages: French espérer, Occitan esperar…
spesa
It is inherited from Late Latin expēnsa (“(money) spent”), short for a phrase with pecūnia (“money”): the feminine past participle of Latin expendō (“to weigh out, pay”), used as a noun. Classical…
spesso
It is inherited from Latin spissus (“thick, dense”). The adverb “often” is the adjective used adverbially, through the sense “numerous, frequent”. The word is panromance: French épais, Occitan…
spettacolo
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin spectāculum (“sight, show; a show in the theatre or circus”). The Latin noun is formed from spectō (“to watch, look at”) with the instrumental suffix…
spiegare
It is inherited from Latin explicō (“to unfold, unroll; to set out, explain”), from ex- (“out”) and plicō (“to fold”). Nocentini calls it the popular outcome of the Latin verb, beside the learned…
spingere
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *expingere, formed with ex- on Latin pangō (“to drive in, fix”). The form with ⟨-ing-⟩ for ⟨-ang-⟩ follows the classical compounds impingō (“to drive against”) and…
spirito
It is borrowed from Latin spīritus (“breath; breath of life, soul; courage”), a learned word of the Church and of philosophy. The Latin noun is formed from spīrō (“to breathe, blow”) with the suffix…
splendido
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin splendidus (“bright, brilliant; magnificent”), from splendeō (“to shine, to be bright”) with the adjective suffix -idus. The same Latin adjective gave…
sporco
It is inherited from Latin spŭrcus (“impure, filthy”). The open /ɔ/, where Latin short /u/ should give a close /o/, is due to the influence of porco (“pig”). DELI quotes Rohlfs on this, and Treccani…
sposa
It is inherited from Latin spōnsa (“woman promised in marriage, fiancée”), the feminine of spōnsus (“betrothed”), the past participle of spondeō (“to promise solemnly”) used as a noun. The pair is…
sposare
It is inherited from Late Latin spōnsāre (“to betroth, marry”), an intensive of spondeō (“to pledge, promise”). The GDLI derives it from spōnsus (“bridegroom”), the noun behind sposo. DEI holds that…
sposo
It is inherited from Latin spōnsus (“betrothed man”), the noun use of the past participle of spondeō (“to promise solemnly”), with the feminine spōnsa, the source of sposa. The same word is French…
squadra
It is formed from the verb squadrare (“to square”) without a suffix. That verb continues inherited from Vulgar Latin *exquadrāre, made of ex- and Latin quadrō (“to make square”), which comes from…
stagione
It is inherited from Latin statiō (“a standing still; place, abode”). The Latin noun is formed from stō (“to stand”). Nocentini explains the sense “season” from astronomy: it referred to the…
stanza
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *stantia (“dwelling, stay”), a noun formed from Latin stāns, the present participle of stō (“to stand, stay”). Devoto explains it as an abstract noun for a set of…
stare
It is inherited from Latin stō (“to stand, stand firm; to be situated”). The Latin present participle stāns lives on in stante. The verb is found in every Romance language: Old French ester (the…
stato
It is borrowed from Latin status (“standing, position, condition”), a noun formed from stō (“to stand”). DEI and Prati call it a learned word, while Wiktionary treats it as inherited. The Latin noun…
stazione
It is borrowed from Latin statio (“a standing still; post, station; abode”), a noun of action from stō (“to stand”) with the suffix -tiō. The railway sense follows English station, used for railways…
stella
It is inherited from Latin stēlla (“star”). The word is panromance: French étoile, Occitan estela, Catalan estela, Spanish estrella, Sardinian isteddu, Romanian stea, Dalmatian stala and Romansh…
stesso
It is inherited from Old Italian istesso, with the loss of the first vowel, inherited from Vulgar Latin *istum ipsum (“this very one”). The Latin phrase is the accusative of iste (“that (near you)”)…
stile
It is borrowed from Latin stilus (“stylus for writing”), in the figurative sense “manner of writing”; Nocentini and GRADIT treat it as a variant of stilo specialised in that sense. In Latin the word…
stomaco
It is borrowed from Latin stomachus (“gullet; stomach; taste; irritation”), a learned word. DEI notes that it is learned everywhere, even in the dialects, and Körting says the same of all its…
storia
It is inherited from Old Italian istoria, borrowed from Latin historia (“inquiry; history; story”), from Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historía, “inquiry; account, history”). The Greek noun is formed from…
strada
It is inherited from Late Latin strāta (“paved road”), short for Latin via strāta (“paved way”), in which strātus (“spread, paved”) is the past participle of sternō (“to spread out, pave”). The /d/…
strano
It is inherited from Old Italian stranio, inherited from Latin extrāneus (“external, foreign; strange”), the popular outcome of the Latin word, whose learned doublet is estraneo. Nocentini, DEI and…
straordinario
DELI and GRADIT take it as a learned borrowing, borrowed from Latin extraordinārius (“out of the ordinary, extra”), with the Latin prefix rendered by Italian stra-. The Latin adjective comes from…
strega
It is inherited from Latin strĭga (“witch; screech owl”), recorded in Petronius, a popular variant of strīx (“screech owl”). The Latin word was taken from Ancient Greek στρίξ (stríx), a bird of the…
stretto
It is inherited from Latin strictus (“tight, dense; strict”), the past participle of stringō (“to bind fast, tighten”). Nocentini explains Tuscan strinto, Sardinian istrintu and Romanian strâmt from…
studente
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin studentem (“one devoting himself; studying”), the present participle of studeō (“to strive after; to apply oneself to learning”). DEI calls it a word of the…
studiare
It is a derivative of studio, with the verb ending -are; the noun is a learned word, borrowed from Latin studium (“zeal, eagerness; study”), from studeō (“to be eager for, apply oneself, study”)…
studio
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin studium (“zeal, eagerness; study”), from studeō (“to devote oneself, strive after”). DEI notes that the word spread as a general European word of culture…
stupendo
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin stupendus (“to be wondered at”), the gerundive of stupeō (“to be stunned, amazed”). DEI cites the Latin adjective from Valerius Maximus, and Devoto calls it…
stupido
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin stupidus (“dazed, stunned”), from stupeō (“to be numb, to be amazed”). The Latin adjective already meant “dull-witted” as well as “stunned”. The same Latin…
su
It is inherited from Old Italian suso, shortened; the Old Italian word is inherited from Latin sūsum (“up, upward”), the assimilated variant of sūrsum. The Latin adverb comes from *subvorsum “from…
subito
The adverb is borrowed from Latin subitō (“suddenly”), the ablative of subitus (“sudden, unexpected”), which the literary adjective continues; both are learned words. The Latin adjective is the past…
succedere
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin succēdō (“to go under; to follow; to turn out well”), from sub- (“under”) and cēdō (“to go”). The Latin verb meant literally “to come up from below” and so…
successo
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”). It is a learned word. The Latin verb…
sufficiente
It is a learned borrowing, borrowed from Latin sufficiēns (“sufficing, adequate”), the present participle of sufficiō (“to supply; to be enough”). Nocentini points to the Late Latin use of the…
suggerire
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin suggerō (“to supply, to add; to prompt, to suggest”), moved from the Latin third conjugation to the Italian third. The Latin verb is a compound of sub-…