signorina Italian · revision 37861

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1605, Settimanni|origins=la senior}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /siɲ.ɲoˈri.na/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''signorina''' ''f'' (plural signorine, masculine signorino, masculine plural signorini)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a diminutive, [[af|it|signora|-ina]], formed from the word for a lady.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) That noun is the feminine of [[signore]], which continues [[inh|la|senior|t=older]] through its accusative.^(Nocentini 2010) In the early Middle Ages the Latin word, which had named men between about 45 and 60, came to mean a man of rank, a notable or master, because the king's council was made up of men of that age.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Settimanni's chronicle of 1605, where the word means a young woman of good family not yet married.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The passage tells how four of the court's ladies left Pisa with the Medici children, ''una lettiga per due di quelle signorine'' “a litter for two of those young ladies”.^(GDLI|18) DEI and Tommaseo cite Francesco Redi, also in the 17th century, for a young woman of a noble family.^(DEI|3494)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ At first the word applied to unmarried women of high social rank.^(GDLI)^(GRADIT 2003) It was used as a title of respect for an unmarried woman, before her name or on its own, by 1837 in the Milanese press, and the sense “unmarried woman” of any age (''è ancora signorina'') is recorded by Zingarelli in 1922.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Italian soldiers of 1915–1918 used the word in slang for a kind of bomb also called ''ballerina'', and at Lucca it named a silkworm that produces no silk.^(DEI|3494) Devoto–Oli notes that as a title it is now often replaced by ''signora'', and in the sense “unmarried woman” by English ''single'' or the bureaucratic ''nubile''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Derogatory uses for a weak or effeminate man, and a euphemistic one for a prostitute in a brothel, are recorded as well.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) English borrowed ''signorina'' as a title by 1820.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1605 – Settimanni's chronicle has the first record, for young women of the Medici court.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 17th century – Francesco Redi uses the word in a medical consultation.^(DEI|3494)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+ * 1820 – The word is recorded in English.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1837 – It is used as a title for an unmarried woman in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1915–1918 – Soldiers' slang uses it for a type of bomb.^(DEI|3494)

+ * 1922 – Zingarelli records the sense “unmarried woman”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A title of courtesy for an unmarried woman, used before her name or on its own, like English [[m|en|Miss]] (abbreviated ''sig.na''): ''Buonasera, signorina, posso aiutarla?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A young woman who is not yet married.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A woman who has never married, also one no longer young.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A girl who has reached [[m|en|puberty]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) ''Diventare signorina'' is a euphemism for having one's first period.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Said playfully of a little girl: ''La signorina oggi non vuole fare il bagno.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(derogatory)'' A weak or [[m|en|effeminate]] man.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) ''Da signorine'', ''per signorine'': not demanding or tough, said of a job or a sport.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(slang, euphemistic)'' A prostitute in a brothel.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(zoology)'' A [[m|en|damselfish]] of the genus ''Pomacentrus'', named for its grace and bright colours.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wikizionario)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[signorinella]]

+ * [[signorinetta]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[signora]]

+ * [[signore]]

+ * [[signorino]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Signorina buonasera'' was the playful name for a woman who announced the programmes on Italian television.^(Gabrielli 2020)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}