giubba

Giubba is an Italian noun meaning a jacket or coat, typically referring to a heavier outer garment. It is a feminine noun (la giubba) with plural le giubbe. In everyday use, the word can denote casual or utilitarian outerwear and is often contrasted with giacca (a more formal jacket) and giubbotto (a padded or insulated jacket). The sense of giubba can extend to military or workwear contexts, where it describes a jacket-like garment rather than a full overcoat.

The etymology of giubba is not definitively established. The term appears in Italian from the medieval or early modern period and may derive from regional dialects or earlier European linguistic forms. Because of its long-standing usage, giubba has a broad, somewhat generic connotation of clothing rather than a specific style.

In Italian culture, giubba is also associated with the stage and performance through the famous aria Vesti la giubba from Ruggero Leoncavallo’s opera Pagliacci (1892). The title phrase translates roughly as “Put on the costume,” with giubba here meaning a theatrical outfit worn by the performer, highlighting the garment’s symbolic role in performance.

Today, giubba remains common in Italian to describe various jackets, including leather or casual outerwear, and it is occasionally encountered in fashion writing or descriptions to evoke a distinctly Italian term for a jacket. In English, the word is rarely used outside Italian contexts, where it is understood as a jacket or coat.