Brits are just realising they’ve had the wrong definition of ‘prima donna’… and it’s got nothing to do with the pop star

YOU'VE probably heard the phrase 'prima donna' thrown around - but do you know what it actually means?

Brits have been admitting they've only just learned the real definition of the phrase, and it's blowing their minds that they've been wrong for years.

It seems people thought it had something to do with the 'Like a Virgin' and 'Holiday' singer.

But as much as we'd love it if the phrase did come from the popstar, Madonna has nothing to do with it.

Confused pop fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to confess their misunderstandings.

"I always thought 'prima donna' was actually 'pre Madonna' and it made me think Madonna was such a b**ch because I thought if you called a girl that then she was being a brat and would grow up to be like Madonna," one person said.

A second had a similar train of thought, "If you’re ever feeling stupid just remember I used to think 'prima donna' was spelled 'pre-Madonna' as in someone who thought they were the next Madonna and therefore a diva."

"Why did I always think it’s Pre-Madonna instead of Prima Donna?! Like Madonna was the bar," another confessed.

A fourth chimed in: "Anyone else grow up thinking prima donna was ‘pre-Madonna’ because Madonna was so cool everyone wanted to be her?"

"Can’t believe it’s prima donna and not pre Madonna. I simply assumed Madonna was high maintenance," someone else wrote.

Others thought the phrase referred to a time before Madonna was famous, or was even born.

"I really thought prima donna was how we were measuring time, like before and after Madonna," wrote another.

So, what actually is a prima donna?

Prima donna actually refers to the lead singer in an opera, in Italian it literally translates to 'first woman'.

In Italy, in the 18th and 19th centuries, these hugely popular prima donnas were often known for their diva-ish behaviour, so the phrase started to be used to describe people with demanding characters.

It then passed into common language to refer to a person who wants special treatment and can be quite hard to please - the more you know!

This isn't the first time people have just realised the meaning of a word though, shopping fans were stunned to discover ASOS actually stands for something recently.

I simply assumed Madonna was high maintenance

Twitter

“The name ASOS is an acronym for ‘As Seen on Screen’,” someone wrote on social media site X.

In fact, when ASOS was found back in 2000, it was intended to be a place that TV and movie fans could turn to to find replicas of the outfits they'd seen on their screens.

the company decided to go just by their acronym, years later as they began to sell other clothes as well.

After learning the origin of ASOS' name, fashion fans took to social media to express their shock over the discovery.

"Never knew ASOS stands for ‘As Seen On Screen’. Why am I so behind on things?" one person wrote.

"I just learned ASOS means ‘As Seen on Screen’ and originally sold clothes seen on TV shows," another added.

As a third commented: "Do the kids know that ASOS is actually an acronym for As Seen on Screen?

"And it used to be entirely focused on stocking versions of clothes you’d seen in films or on popular shows."