regina Italian · revision 38390

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1225, Garzo (reina)|origins=ine-pro *h₃rēǵs}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /reˈd͡ʒi.na/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''regina''' ''f'' (plural regine, masculine re)^(Wiktionary)

+ The older form is [[roa-oit|reina]], still used in poetry; northern Italy had [[roa-oit|raina]] and [[roa-oit|ragina]] in the 13th and 14th centuries, and old texts also have [[roa-oit|redina]].^(DEI|3223)^(Prati 1951|831)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|rēgīna|t=queen]], a learned form that replaced the older [[roa-oit|reina]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3223)^(Prati 1951|831) Wiktionary treats the Italian word as inherited instead.^(Wiktionary) The Latin word is related to [[m|la|rēx|t=king]], and the other Romance languages have it by direct descent: [[fr|reine]], [[oc|reina]], [[ca|reina]], [[es|reina]] and [[pt|rainha]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Wiktionary) Sabatini and Coletti take the older Italian form from French.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ De Vaan derives the word for “king” from [[ine-pro|*h₃rḗǵs|t=ruler, king]].^(de Vaan 2008) Nocentini compares the feminine with [[osc|regenai]] (a dative), [[sa|राज्ञी|tr=rājñī|t=queen]] and [[sga|rígain]], while Wiktionary calls the exact formation uncertain.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The form ''reina'' is used for the Virgin Mary by Garzo about 1225.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) DELI's first record of ''regina'' “wife of the king” is in Brunetto Latini before 1294, and ''reina'' in the same sense is in the ''Novellino'' at the end of the 13th century.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Guittone d'Arezzo called Florence ''reina delle città'' before 1294, and Dante uses the word for a woman who excels among others.^(DELI 1999) The chess piece is already called ''regina'' in the 13th-century ''Tavola Ritonda''.^(DELI 1999) Nocentini explains it as a calque of French ''reine'': the original name of the piece came through Arabic and Spanish from Persian ''farzīn'' “sage”;^(Nocentini 2010) Old French ''fierge'' was taken for ''vierge'' “virgin”, and the Virgin then for the queen.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The sense “woman who reigns” is dated before 1535 (Francesco Berni).^(DELI 1999) The fertile female of ants, bees and wasps is recorded in 1738, and in 1963 a dictionary mocked a proposal of 1948 to say ''ape madre'' instead of ''ape regina''.^(DELI 1999) The playing card is dated 1939–1940.^(DELI 1999) Plant and fruit names followed: ''uva regina'' (1773) and ''regina dei vigneti'' (1942) for table grapes, and ''regina dei prati'' for meadowsweet, perhaps from French.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|3223) Maltese borrowed the word as ''reġina''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1225 – Garzo calls the Virgin ''reina''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 13th century – The chess piece is a ''regina'' in the ''Tavola Ritonda''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''regina'' “wife of the king”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1535 – Francesco Berni has the sense “woman who reigns”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1738 – ''Regina'' is used of the queen bee.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1872 – Tommaseo records ''la regina dei mari'' for Venice.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1905 – ''Reginetta'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1939–1940 – The playing card is called ''regina''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|queen]], the wife of a king: ''Il re e la regina salutarono dal balcone.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A queen who reigns, the [[m|en|sovereign]] of a monarchy: ''la regina di Danimarca''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A woman who stands out among others; also a city or thing that excels: ''la regina della serata'', ''la rosa, regina dei fiori''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(religion)'' A title of the Virgin [[m|en|Mary]], usually with a capital: ''Regina del cielo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(zoology)'' The fertile female of social insects such as bees, ants, wasps and termites.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(chess)'' The queen, the most powerful piece.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(card games)'' The card between the king and the jack.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[reginetta]]

+ * [[reginella]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[re]]

+ * [[regno]]

+ * [[regale]]

+ * [[reale]]

+ * [[la|rēgīna]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ After a noun ''regina'' is used as an invariable modifier, as in ''ape regina''.^(Treccani 2011)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DEI lists separately the name of two white grape varieties (19th century) and of a sea fish (17th century, Redi).^(DEI|3223)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}