The title Mona Lisa stems from the Giorgio Vasari biography of Leonardo da Vinci, published 31 years after Leonardo's death. In it, he identified the sitter as Lisa Gherardini, the wife of wealthy Florentine businessman Francesco del Giocondo. Mona was a common Italian contraction of madonna, meaning my lady, the equivalent of the English Madam, so the title means Madam Lisa.
In modern Italian, the short form of madonna is usually spelled Monna, so the title is sometimes given as Monna Lisa. This is rare in English, but more common in Romance languages.
The alternative title, La Gioconda, is the feminine form of Giocondo. In Italian, giocondo also means light-hearted (jocund in English), so gioconda means light-hearted woman. Because of her smile, this version of the title plays on this double meaning, as does the French La Joconde.
Both Mona Lisa and La Gioconda became established as titles for this painting in the 19th century. Before these names became established, the painting had been referred to by various descriptive phrases, such as "a certain Florentine lady" and "a courtesan in a gauze veil."
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