Meaning
Originally the leading female singer of an opera company; in modern English almost always a vain, temperamental person who demands special treatment and reacts badly to criticism or inconvenience. The figurative sense is disparaging and can be applied to any gender; the drift from neutral job title to insult developed after the word entered English. Nearly always negative in modern use; applying it to an actual opera singer risks reading as an insult. Regional use: General English (borrowed from Italian).
Origin
Italian, literally 'first lady' - prima 'first' plus donna 'lady, woman'. The term named the principal female singer of an opera company; the Italian plural is prime donne, and the male lead was the primo uomo. Random House (via dictionary.com) first records it in English in 1760-70. Wikipedia describes how, in 19th-century Italian opera houses, prime donne carried grand off-stage reputations and made strict demands of colleagues and staff, and the word consequently spread beyond opera to label anyone demanding, temperamental, or self-important; neither source fixes a date for that figurative extension.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- prima donnas
- prime donne
Usage Examples
- The opera house nurtured several prima donnas who later sang at La Scala.
- He refused to share credit and sulked through rehearsals, behaving like a genuine prima donna.
- Nobody on this crew is a prima donna; everyone hauls their own gear.