La Dolce Vita
/la ˈdoltʃe ˈviːta/noun
An indulgent, pleasurable, and sophisticated way of life, especially associated with Italy in the mid-20th century.
Did you know?Federico Fellini’s 1960 film La Dolce Vita helped transform an ordinary Italian expression into an internationally recognized symbol of glamorous excess and existential emptiness.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʷeiH-
“To live; the ancestral root behind Latin vita and English words connected with vitality.”
Classical Latin
Latin
dulcis
“Sweet, pleasant, or agreeable.”
Classical Latin
Latin
vīta
“Life or manner of living.”
Late Latin
Latin
illa dulcis vīta
“That sweet life; the phrase’s grammatical ancestors, with illa developing into the Italian feminine article la.”
Medieval Italian
Italian
la dolce vita
“The sweet life; a phrase describing pleasurable or comfortable living.”
1960
Italian
La dolce vita
“Title of Federico Fellini’s film portraying Rome’s glamorous social world and its spiritual emptiness.”
Modern English
English
La Dolce Vita
“A borrowed expression for an indulgent, fashionable, pleasure-centered lifestyle.”