Italian words from Latin
1037 Italian words with Latin in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 8).
indietro
It continues inherited from Vulgar Latin *in dē retrō, a phrase made of Latin in (“in”), dē (“from”) and retrō (“backwards, behind”). Wiktionary and Gabrielli describe it instead as formed in…
indovinare
It continues inherited from Vulgar Latin *indivināre, made from Latin dīvīnāre (“to foretell, prophesy”) with the prefix in-. The Latin verb is a derivative of dīvīnus (“divine; prophetic”). GRADIT…
inferno
It is a learned word, borrowed from Late Latin infernum (“hell”), the noun use of Latin infernus (“lower, underground”). The Latin adjective is formed from inferus (“lying below”) on the model of…
informazione
It is borrowed from Latin īnfōrmātiō (“formation of an idea, notion”), from īnfōrmō (“to give shape to; to form an idea of”), from in- and fōrma (“shape”). Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti treat it…
iniziare
It is borrowed from Latin initiō (“to initiate into the mysteries; begin”), a learned word, a verb formed from initium (“beginning”). Devoto–Oli derives it instead from inizio. The Latin verb first…
inizio
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin initium (“beginning, (plural) mysteries”). The Latin noun is formed on ineō (“to go into, enter; to begin”), from in- (“in”) and eō (“to go”). Its…
innocente
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin innocēns (“harmless; blameless”), formed in- (“not”) and nocēns (“harmful; guilty”), the present participle of noceō (“to harm”): literally “one who does no…
insegnare
It is inherited from Late Latin īnsignō (“to imprint signs”), a verb of the Latin glosses, formed with an intensive in- from signō (“to mark; to show, explain”), in the sense “to show, explain” that…
insieme
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *insemel, a blend of Latin īnsimul (“at the same time, together”) and semel (“once”). īnsimul is found in Statius in the 1st century, and is simul (“at the same…
insistere
It is borrowed from Latin īnsistere (“to stand on; to persist”), a learned word. The Latin verb is formed from sistō (“to set up; to stand still”) with the prefix in- (“on”), and so meant literally…
intelligente
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin intelligens (“understanding”), the present participle of intelligō (“to understand, perceive”). The Latin verb, also spelled intellegō, is formed from inter…
intendere
It is inherited from Latin intendō (“to stretch towards; to direct; to aim at, pay attention”), formed from tendō (“to stretch”) with in- (“towards”). The verb is found in all the Romance languages…
intenzione
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin intentiō (“a stretching; attention; purpose”), from intendō (“to stretch towards, direct”), the source of intendere. According to DEI, the Latin noun…
interesse
It is a learned word, borrowed from Medieval Latin interesse, the infinitive of a Latin verb meaning “to be between; to take part; to matter”, used as a noun. The verb is a compound of inter-…
interno
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin internus (“inner, internal”), formed on inter (“between, among”). DELI explains the Latin word as built on an unattested *interus, just as infernus…
intero
It is inherited from Latin integer (“untouched, whole, intact”), from the accusative, through a spoken form Vulgar Latin *intĕgrum stressed on the second syllable, in place of the classical stress…
intorno
It is formed from Italian in + torno (“turn, circuit”), first written separately. Torno is a noun from tornare, inherited from Latin tornō (“to turn on a lathe”). The same formation is Old French…
inutile
It is borrowed from Latin inūtilis (“useless, unprofitable”), a learned word, formed in- (“not”) and ūtilis (“useful”). The Latin adjective passed into all the western Romance languages, such as…
io
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *eo, a spoken form of Latin ĕgō (“I”). The shortened form is what all the Romance languages continue: Old French jou (modern French je), Occitan jo, Catalan jo…
isola
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *isula, from Latin īnsula (“island”): the Vulgar Latin form had lost the /n/ before /s/, as mese did from mēnsis. The form Medieval Latin isula already appears in…
ispettore
It is borrowed from Latin īnspector (“examiner, observer”), recorded in Seneca, the agent noun of īnspiciō (“to look into, to examine”), from in- (“in, into”) and speciō (“to look”). DEI calls it a…
la
1. The article and pronoun is inherited from Latin illa (“that”), the feminine of the demonstrative ⟨ille⟩ “that”, in its nominative ⟨illa⟩ and accusative ⟨illam⟩. The demonstrative was already used…
là
It is inherited from Latin illāc (“that way; there”). The Latin adverb was the ablative feminine of ille (“that”), the source of il, with the deictic particle -ce added. It came from phrases such as…
laboratorio
It is a learned word, borrowed from New Latin laboratorium, first the workshop of the alchemist, from the adjective Medieval Latin laboratorius (“that can be worked”), derived from Latin labōrō (“to…
ladro
It is inherited from Latin latro (“highwayman, robber”), continued in the nominative (or, as Bonfante held, the vocative) form, not in the accusative, which gave the doublet ladrone. The voiced /d/…
largo
It is inherited from Latin largus (“abundant; generous”). In Latin the word meant “abundant” and then “generous”, a sense kept mainly in derivatives such as largire; Latin said “wide” with lātus…
lasciare
It is inherited from Latin laxāre (“to widen, loosen, release”), from laxus (“loose, wide”). In Latin the verb took the place of linquō (“to leave”), first as a synonym of permittō (“to allow”) and…
lato
It is inherited from Latin latus (“side, flank”), a neuter noun with the stem ⟨later-⟩. Latin already used it in mathematics (Quintilian), and in Late Latin it became a preposition: “ad latus”…
latte
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin lacte, the form of classical Latin lac (“milk”) in later Latin. The Latin neuter was already treated as a masculine, with the accusative lactem, in Petronius, in…
lavorare
It is inherited from Latin labōrō (“to toil, labour; to till”). The Latin verb is formed on labor (“toil, work”). In the western Romance languages the inherited verb mostly means “to plough”…
lavoro
DELI, Nocentini and GRADIT take it as inherited from Latin labor (“toil, effort, work”), from the accusative ⟨labōrem⟩, with a change of declension. DEI, Devoto, Devoto–Oli, Sabatini–Coletti…
le
The article and the object pronoun “them” are inherited from Latin ille (“that”) in the feminine plural, with the first syllable lost. Most dictionaries start from the nominative plural ⟨illae⟩…
legale
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin lēgālis (“of the law”), from lēx (“law”), formed like rēgālis (“royal”) from rēx (“king”). The Latin adjective was formed with the suffix -ālis. Some of its…
legato
1. The participle is inherited from Latin ligātus (“tied, bound”), the past participle of ligō (“to tie, bind”), which became legare. The verb is pan-Romance: French lier, Occitan liar, Catalan…
legge
It is inherited from Latin lēx (“law”), from the accusative ⟨lēgem⟩, with the doubled ⟨gg⟩ that is regular in Tuscan before a front vowel. The word is common to the Romance languages: French loi…
leggere
It is inherited from Latin legō (“to gather, collect; to read”). The GDLI calls it a learned word. The Latin verb lives on in French lire, Occitan legir, Spanish leer and Portuguese ler. The first…
lei
It is inherited from Late Latin illaei, a dative of Latin illa (“that (woman)”), the feminine of Latin ille (“that”). Classical Latin had one dative, illī, for both genders; popular Latin made a…
lettera
It is inherited from Latin littera (“letter of the alphabet”), whose plural litterae meant “an epistle”, “literature” and “culture”. Under the influence of Ancient Greek γράμμα (grámma) and its…
letto
It is inherited from Latin lectus (“bed, couch”). The word is common to the Romance languages except Romanian: French lit, Occitan liech, Catalan llit, Spanish lecho and Portuguese leito; in Spain…
lezione
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin lectiō (“reading; selection”), a noun of action from lēctus, the past participle of legō (“to gather; to read”). In its first centuries the Italian word…
li
It is inherited from Latin illī (“those”), the nominative masculine plural of Latin ille (“that”). The Latin nominative was extended to the accusative in the pronoun. DEI also derives the old dative…
lì
It is inherited from Latin illīc (“there, in that place”), an old locative of the demonstrative ille (“that”), strengthened with the deictic particle -ce. The Latin adverb is illī with that particle…
liberare
It is a learned borrowed from Latin līberō (“to set free”), derived from the adjective līber (“free”). DELI dates it to Dante (1304–1308). The Latin verb also lived on in popular use with the…
libero
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin līber (“free”). In Rome the word named a man free by birth, as opposed to a slave and to a freedman. The Latin adjective also had a few popular outcomes…
libertà
It is borrowed from Latin lībertās (“freedom; the condition of a free man”), a learned word taken from Latin. The Latin noun was formed from līber (“free”) with the suffix -tās. Italian took it from…
libro
It is borrowed from Latin liber (“inner bark of a tree; book”), a learned or semi-learned word: Körting points out that the ⟨i⟩ kept in every Romance language shows a partly bookish transmission…
licenziare
It is borrowed from Medieval Latin licentiāre (“to give leave”), a verb formed from Latin licentia (“freedom, permission”). GRADIT dates the Medieval Latin verb to 1115. The TLIO explains it instead…
liceo
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin Lycēum, from Ancient Greek Λύκειον (Lúkeion), the name of the place near Athens where Aristotle taught. The place was named after the nearby temple of…
lieto
It is inherited from Latin laetus (“glad, joyful; fertile, rich”). DELI and Nocentini explain that the Latin adjective first meant “fertile, fruitful”, a word of the farming world, and that this…
limite
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin līmes (“boundary; boundary path”), taken from the accusative ⟨līmitem⟩. DELI describes the Latin word's origin as uncertain. French limite (14th century)…
linea
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin līnea (“linen thread, string; line”). The Latin noun was the feminine of the adjective līneus (“of flax, linen”) used on its own for a thread of linen, from…
lingua
It is inherited from Latin lingua (“tongue; language”), which already had both senses, as Greek did. The same word is French langue, Occitan lenga, Catalan llengua, Spanish lengua, Portuguese…
litigare
It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin lītigāre (“to quarrel; to go to law”), a legal term formed from līs (“lawsuit; dispute”). The Latin verb is formed like iurgō (“to quarrel”) from iūs…
livello
It is a deverbal noun of livellare (“to level”), which comes from livella (“spirit level”). The tool's name is inherited from Latin lībella (“small balance; level”), a diminutive of lībra (“balance…
lo
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *(il)lu, from Latin ille (“that”) in the accusative ⟨illum⟩, with the first syllable and the final ⟨-m⟩ lost. The article and the pronoun are the same word. In some…
locale
1. The adjective is a learned word, borrowed from Late Latin locālis (“of place”), from Latin locus (“place”). DELI notes that the Latin word belonged to the scholastic tradition, where it rendered…
lontano
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *longitānus (“distant”), formed from the adverb Latin longiter (“far, for a long way”) or longē (“far”), both from longus (“long; far”). Nocentini analyses it as a…
loro
It is inherited from Latin illōrum (“of those”), the genitive plural of Latin ille (“that”). DELI calls the use of the genitive instead of the dative exceptional, and explains it, following Bourciez…
lottare
It is inherited from Latin luctor (“to wrestle, to struggle”), a verb first of athletics. The word is pan-Romance: French lutter, Occitan luchar, Catalan lluitar, Spanish luchar, Portuguese luitar…
luce
It is inherited from Latin lux (“light; daylight, day”), from the accusative ⟨lūcem⟩. The GDLI calls it a learned word, but DELI, Nocentini and Wiktionary treat it as inherited. The same Latin word…