English
donna
Donna comes from Italian donna ‘lady’, and goes back to Latin dominus ‘master’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominus‘master’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomina‘lady, mistress of an estate or household’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdomna‘lady, mistress’shortened variant of domina
- Italianc. 1300–presentdonna‘lady’
- Englishearliest quotation 1837same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominus‘master’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomina‘lady, mistress of an estate or household’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdomna‘lady, mistress’shortened variant of domina
- Italianc. 1300–presentdonna‘lady’
- Englishearliest quotation 1837same form
Earliest quotation: 1837, Thomas Tod Stoddart, Angling reminiscences: “What are the songs of Italy, sung as they…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build’
timber, despotic, toft, teem, 19 more
through Proto-Indo-European *dṓm ‘house, home’
through Proto-Italic *domos ‘house, home’
through Latin domus ‘home’
domestic, dome, domicile, domus, 9 more
through Latin dominus ‘master’
do, danger, dan, domain, don, dominate, dungeon, dominion, domination, domino, damsel, dominus, dominatrix, domine, 8 more
through Latin domina ‘lady, mistress of an estate or household’
through Late Latin domna ‘lady, mistress’
Today it means
noun A lady, especially a noblewoman; the title given to a lady in Italy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin dominus / donna