sissignore Italian · revision 39261

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=before 1815|origins=la sīc, la senior}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˌsis.siɲˈɲo.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sissignore''' (also written separately, ''sì signore''); addressing a woman ''sissignora'', addressing several people ''sissignori''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the phrase “yes, sir” written as one word: [[af|it|sì|signore|t1=yes|t2=sir, lord]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The spelling reflects the doubling of the second word's initial /s/ in pronunciation.^(Treccani 2011)^(GDLI|19, 97) Because the noun is a vocative, its second part can agree with the person addressed in gender and number.^(GDLI|19, 97)^(Treccani 2011) DELI compares the negative counterpart [[nossignore]].^(DELI 1999)

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+ The first part continues [[la|sīc|t=thus]], from the elliptical phrase [[m|la|sīc est|t=it is so]].^(Nocentini 2010) The second continues the comparative [[la|senior|t=older]], which became a title of respect in the early Middle Ages.^(Nocentini 2010)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ GRADIT dates the ironic, emphatic use to before 1815.^(GRADIT 2003) DELI's first record is in Camillo Cavour, who died in 1861, as a respectful “yes” to a superior.^(DELI 1999) Cavour wrote: ''Sissignore, il ministero avrà questo coraggio'' (“Yes, sir, the ministry will have this courage”).^(GDLI|19, 97)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the start the word was a polite or deferential form of ''sì'', used above all to a superior or a person of standing.^(GDLI|19, 97) It became typical of military language, the soldier's “yes, sir” on receiving an order.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

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+ Used as an aside, it reinforces what the speaker has just said, often with irony or defiance: in Verga's prose a character ends a complaint with ''sissignore''.^(GDLI|19, 97)^(Zingarelli 2010) The feminine ''sissignora'' is used to a woman, as in Verga, though Wiktionary notes that it can sound jocular, so the masculine may be used to anyone.^(GDLI|19, 97)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1815 – The ironic, emphatic use is first recorded.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ * Before 1861 – Cavour uses ''sissignore'' as a respectful answer to a superior.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|19, 97)

+ * 1891 – Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the word from this year.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Interjection===

+ # [[m|en|yes|alt=Yes]], [[m|en|sir]]: a respectful affirmative answer to a superior, especially among soldiers: ''Sissignore, il rapporto è pronto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(ironic, emphatic)'' Certainly, quite so; it stresses a statement, often in defiance: ''Ho venduto la macchina, sissignore!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sì]]

+ * [[signore]]

+ * [[nossignore]]

+ * [[signorsì]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Signorsì'' is a synonym.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Treccani marks the word as not common, and gives the agreeing forms ''sissignori'' (several people) and ''sissignora'' (a woman).^(Treccani 2011)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}