matrimonio Italian · revision 37837

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=first half of the 13th century, Ranieri volgarizzato (Viterbo)|origins=ine-pro *méh₂tēr}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ma.triˈmɔ.njo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''matrimonio''' ''m'' (plural matrimoni)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian forms include ''matremonio'', ''matrimoniu'' and ''matrimono''.^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|mātrimōnium|t=marriage]], formed from [[m|la|māter|t=mother]] on the model of [[m|la|patrimōnium|t=patrimony]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) The Latin word first meant the legal motherhood a woman gained by marrying, and then the marriage itself.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968) The suffix [[m|la|-mōnium]] named a condition or duty.^(Wiktionary)^(Wikizionario) [[es|matrimonio]] is learned too, and [[en|matrimony]] goes back to the Middle Ages.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|2392)

+

+ Medieval writers explained the name from the mother's role: a 14th-century text says marriage is named after the mother rather than the father because her office is more visible in it, “Matrimonio tanto è a dire come ufficio di madre” (marriage is as much as to say the office of a mother).^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Indo-European [[m|ine-pro|*méh₂tēr|t=mother]], perhaps from a nursery word for “mum”.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in a Viterbo translation, the ''Ranieri volgarizzato'', of the first half of the 13th century, for the union of a man and a woman sanctioned by a civil or religious authority.^(TLIO) DELI dates the word to Brunetto Latini, before 1294.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian used ''matrimonio'' also for the marriage bed, the sacrament, any spiritual union (the mystic marriage of Christ and the Church) and even a military alliance.^(TLIO) The adjective ''matrimoniale'' is in Bono Giamboni (before 1292); ''letto matrimoniale'' “double bed” is recorded in 1561.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Tommaseo (1869) has the sense “duration of married life”.^(DELI 1999) The modern dictionaries add the wedding ceremony and figurative alliances between parties or firms, and Devoto–Oli notes the recent extension to same-sex couples in some countries.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) ''Matrimonialista'', a lawyer for divorce and separation cases, dates from 1963.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * First half of the 13th century – The ''Ranieri volgarizzato'' has the first record.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''matrimoniale''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''matrimonio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1561 – ''Letto matrimoniale'' “double bed” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1869 – Tommaseo records the sense “married life”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1963 – ''Matrimonialista'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|marriage|alt=Marriage]], the union of two spouses before a civil or religious authority: ''matrimonio civile'', ''matrimonio religioso''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Married life, or its length: ''Dopo vent'anni di matrimonio si conoscono bene.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A [[m|en|wedding]], the ceremony: ''Siamo invitati a un matrimonio sabato.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Catholicism)'' The [[m|en|sacrament]] of marriage.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' An alliance between two parties, firms or the like.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[matrimoniale]]

+ * [[matrimonialista]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sposare]]

+ * [[monogamia]]

+ * [[divorzio]]

+ * [[separazione]]

+ * [[madre]]

+ * [[patrimonio]]

+ * [[nozze]]

+ * [[la|matrimonium]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Matrimonio di convenienza'' is a marriage of convenience, and ''fare un buon matrimonio'' is to marry well.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}