principessa Italian · revision 38931

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1294, Brunetto Latini|origins=la princeps}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /prin.t͡ʃiˈpes.sa/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''principessa''' ''f'' (plural principesse)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include ''prencessa'' and ''prenzessa'', in Giovanni Villani.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) GDLI also records ''prencipessa'' and ''prinzipessa''.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|it|principe|-essa|t1=prince]], the feminine of the noun.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) Körting reconstructed [[la|*principissa]] behind it and its Romance cognates [[fr|princesse]] and [[es|princesa]].^(Körting 1907) Wiktionary compares [[scn|principissa]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The noun [[principe]] is a learned word from [[la|princeps|t=first; chief]], properly “the one who takes the first place”, a compound of [[m|la|prīmus|t=first]] and [[m|la|capiō|t=to take]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ GRADIT dates the first record to before 1294, and Tommaseo quotes Brunetto Latini's verse: ''E vidi là d'intorno / Dimorare a soggiorno / Cinque gran principesse'' (“And I saw dwelling around there five great princesses”).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Nocentini puts the word in the 13th century and Zingarelli about 1261, while DELI's first record is later, Andrea da Barberino before 1431.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Brunetto Latini also used the word figuratively, calling invention ''principessa di tutte l'arti'' (“princess of all the arts”).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Andrea da Barberino's romances count queens, duchesses and ''prinzipesse'' among the widows of the battle of Aspromonte, and Torquato Tasso praised the learning of the princesses of Ferrara.^(GDLI) In Manzoni a future abbess is called the ''principessa'' of her convent.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ The figurative sense of a woman living in luxury, or one who gives herself airs, is common today, as in ''vivere come una principessa''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) For the diminutive ''principessina'' DELI gives Giovan Battista Casti (1802), but Nocentini dates it before 1294.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) English used ''principessa'' for an Italian princess from 1707, and German from 1838.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1261 – Zingarelli's date of first record.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''principesse''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani writes ''prenzessa'' and ''prencessa''.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+ * Before 1431 – Andrea da Barberino uses the form ''prinzipesse''.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+ * 1707 – English ''principessa'' is first recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1802 – Giovan Battista Casti uses ''principessina''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1838 – German ''Principessa'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|princess]], the female ruler of a principality.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The wife or daughter of a [[m|en|prince]]: ''La principessa sposò il figlio del duca.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The daughter of a sovereign.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A woman who lives in luxury, or one who acts haughty and refined: ''Si comporta come una principessa e non lava mai i piatti.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[principessina]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[principe]]

+ * [[principato]]

+ * [[principesco]]

+ * [[fr|princesse]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}