delizioso Italian · revision 39207

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1294, Guittone d'Arezzo|origins=la deliciae}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /de.litˈt͡sjo.zo/, /de.litˈt͡sjo.so/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''delizioso''' (feminine deliziosa, masculine plural deliziosi, feminine plural deliziose)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|dilizioso]], [[roa-oit|dilicioso]], [[roa-oit|delitioso]] and Milanese [[roa-oit|delicïosa]].^(TLIO)^(Zingarelli 2010) Old Italian also had ''lezioso'', with the first syllable dropped.^(Körting 1907)^(LEI|19, 845)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-lat|dēliciōsus|t=delightful]], a learned word.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin adjective is formed from [[m|la|dēliciae|t=delights, luxury]] with the suffix [[m|la|-ōsus]].^(Wiktionary)^(Gabrielli 2020) Zingarelli and Gabrielli derive it instead from the verb [[m|la-lat|dēliciō|alt=dēliciāre|t=to delight]].^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) The same Latin word gave the learned [[fr|délicieux]], [[ca|deliciós]], [[es|delicioso]] and [[pt|delicioso]], and Romansh “delizius”.^(LEI|19, 845)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ DELI derives Latin “dēliciae” from the expressive verb [[la|laciō|alt=lacere|t=to entice]], of unknown origin;^(DELI 1999) Nocentini traces it through [[m|la|dēliciō|alt=delicere|t=to allure]] to the same verb, which he groups with [[allettare]] and [[dilettare]].^(Nocentini 2010) The apple sense goes back to English: “mela deliziosa” renders [[en|delicious]], the name of an American apple variety.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the Milanese poetry of Bonvesin de la Riva, before 1315, and LEI has Guittone d'Arezzo in the second half of the 13th century;^(TLIO)^(LEI|19, 845)^(Zingarelli 2010) Zingarelli dates the word before 1294.^(TLIO)^(LEI|19, 845)^(Zingarelli 2010) DELI's first record is Domenico Cavalca, before 1342.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The early sense is “that gives joy and delight”, and Nocentini gives “enchanting”.^(TLIO)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already used the word in a negative sense, of someone given to refinements and to the sins of gluttony and lust: Cavalca writes of ''conviti deliziosi'', lavish banquets, and warns ''questi deliziosi'' that they will weep for ever.^(TLIO)^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Boccaccio uses ''deliziosa vita'' for a life of pleasure.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) This sense, “voluptuous, effeminate”, lasted until the 20th century (Tassoni before 1635, Piovene in 1957) and is now obsolete.^(LEI|19, 845)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ The sense of food that satisfies the taste is old too, and the TLIO already records it.^(TLIO) Francesco Redi wrote that the soft antlers of deer were delicacies at the tables of the great.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Today the word is used above all of pleasant things, places, people and food, and in the 20th century the apple name ''deliziosa'' was taken from English.^(GRADIT 2003)^(LEI|19, 845)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Second half of the 13th century – Guittone d'Arezzo uses ''delizioso''.^(LEI|19, 845)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Before 1315 – Bonvesin de la Riva has Milanese ''delicïosa''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca writes of ''conviti deliziosi''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1354–1355 – Boccaccio uses ''diliziosa'' in the sense “given to pleasure”.^(LEI|19, 845)

+ * 1524 – Castiglione uses the Latinizing form ''delicioso''.^(LEI|19, 845)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|delightful]], very pleasant; charming or pretty: ''Abbiamo passato una serata deliziosa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Of a person: [[m|en|charming]], very pleasant in manner or appearance: ''La loro figlia è una bambina deliziosa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Of a place: lovely, attractive to look at.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Of food or drink: [[m|en|delicious]], tasting very good: ''Questa torta è deliziosa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(agriculture)'' ''mela deliziosa'': the Delicious apple.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' [[m|en|voluptuous]], soft, given to pleasures.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[deliziosamente]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[delizia]]

+ * [[deliziare]]

+ * [[la|dēliciae]]

+ * [[fr|délicieux]]

+ * [[en|delicious]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}