Etymograph

English

donna

Donna comes from Italian donna ‘lady’, from Latin dominus ‘master’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-1‘to build’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dṓm1‘house, home’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domos1‘house, home’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomus2‘home’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominus2‘master’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomina2‘lady, mistress of an estate or household’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdomna2‘lady, mistress’shortened variant of domina
  8. Italianc. 1300–presentdonna3‘lady’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1837donna3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin domus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Italian donna
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English donna
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, Thomas Tod Stoddart, Angling reminiscences: “What are the songs of Italy, sung as they…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-Wiktionary, Latin domus‘to build’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dṓmWiktionary, Latin domus‘house, home’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domosWiktionary, Latin domus‘house, home’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomusWiktionary, Italian donna‘home’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominusWiktionary, Italian donna‘master’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominaWiktionary, Italian donna‘lady, mistress of an estate or household’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdomnaWiktionary, Italian donna‘lady, mistress’shortened variant of domina
  8. Italianc. 1300–presentdonnaWiktionary, English donna‘lady’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1837donnaWiktionary, English donna. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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’

despot, domaine, 19 more

through Proto-Italic *domos ‘house, home’

domesticate, 8 more

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’

domina, 6 more

through Late Latin domna ‘lady, mistress’

dame

Today it means

noun A lady, especially a noblewoman; the title given to a lady in Italy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “donna”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin domus, Italian donna. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dem- / donna

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