sorriso Italian · revision 39237

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1321, Dante|origins=la subrīdeō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /sorˈri.zo/, /sorˈri.so/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sorriso''' ''m'' (plural sorrisi)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is derived from the verb [[sorridere]], on the model of [[riso]] “laughter” beside [[ridere]].^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GDLI) Wiktionary connects it directly with [[la|subrīsus|t=a smiling]], the noun from the past participle of [[m|la|subrīdeō|t=to smile]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The verb continues [[m|la|subrīdeō]], made of [[m|la|sub-|t=under, slightly]] and [[m|la|rīdeō|t=to laugh]], with a change of conjugation;^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Nocentini sets up a Vulgar Latin form with the prefix assimilated.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The same verb is [[fr|sourire]] and, with a different prefix, [[es|sonreír]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is Dante's ''Paradiso'', before 1321, for the act and manner of smiling: ''Vincendo me col lume d'un sorriso, / ella mi disse'' “overcoming me with the light of a smile, she said to me”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ After Dante the word was used by Bembo, Aretino and Tasso for the smile as a sign of joy, kindness or seduction, and more rarely of irony or scorn.^(GDLI) The figurative sense “gladness, beauty”, as in ''il sorriso della natura'', is recorded in 1873 by Tommaseo and Bellini, who quote it from a modern writer.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010) Art history speaks of the ''sorriso eginetico'', the smile of archaic Greek sculpture such as the statues of Aegina.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Mid-13th century – Stefano Protonotaro uses the verb ''sorridere''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses ''sorriso'' in the ''Paradiso''.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+ * 1873 – Tommaseo and Bellini record the figurative sense “gladness, beauty”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|smile]]: a slight movement of the lips and eyes, as in a silent laugh: ''Ci salutò con un sorriso stanco.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative, literary)'' A cheerful, charming look of something; gladness, beauty: ''il sorriso del mare''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sorrisetto]]

+ * [[sorrisino]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sorridere]]

+ * [[riso]]

+ * [[ridere]]

+ * [[fr|sourire]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Fixed phrases are ''avere sempre il sorriso sulle labbra'', to be always cheerful, and ''avere un sorriso per tutti'', to be friendly to everyone.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011) A separate, literary ''sorriso'' is the past participle of ''sorridere'' used as an adjective, “said with a smile”, as in Dante's ''sorrise parolette brevi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}