Etymologically
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affatto

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Pronunciation

  • /afˈfat.to/[1]

Etymology

It comes from the phrase a fatto, in the sense “in fact, as a thing completed”, written as one word.[2][3][4][5][6] DEI and Wiktionary analyse it as from Italian a + fatto.[7][1]

DELI explains the negative sense “not at all” from the frequent pairing of the adverb with a negation (non, niente), so that it took on their meaning by itself; it notes, after Luca Serianni, that this sense now prevails.[2] DEI keeps the negative use apart as a second head and calls it especially southern.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Lombard Libro of Pietro da Bescapè (1274), for “completely, wholly; really”.[8][3] Old texts also write afatto, affacto and adfacto.[8] DELI's first Tuscan record is Giovanni Villani (before 1348), who writes of being affatto sconfitti, utterly defeated.[2]

Semantic evolution

The adverb was soon used to strengthen a negation: non affatto about 1350 in the Italian translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi, nulla affatto in Giuseppe Baretti (1743) and niente affatto in Ippolito Nievo (before 1861).[2] In 1839 the purist Marcantonio Parenti complained that people, especially in the south, used affatto alone for “not at all”, which by its proper sense would mean the opposite.[2]

Modern dictionaries still record both uses: the positive “entirely” as literary or formal (un punto di vista affatto diverso), and the negative as the common one, alone in colloquial answers (“Sei stanco?” “Affatto!”).[5][9][4] Treccani calls the bare negative use incorrect though widespread.[10]

Timeline

  • 1274 – Pietro da Bescapè uses afato “completely”.[8]
  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses affatto.[2]
  • About 1350 – Non affatto appears in the translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi.[2]
  • 1743 – Giuseppe Baretti writes nulla affatto.[2]
  • 1839 – Marcantonio Parenti condemns affatto alone for “not at all”.[2]
  • Before 1861 – Ippolito Nievo writes niente affatto.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. (literary, formal) entirely, wholly, quite: due interpretazioni affatto diverse.[4][5][9]
  2. With a negation, at all: Non mi sono affatto annoiato.[4][5][10]
  3. (colloquial) Alone, especially in answers, “not at all”: “Ti disturbo?” “Affatto.”[5][9]
  • fatto

Usage notes

Niente affatto (“not at all”) is the usual reinforced answer.[4][5] Because affatto properly means “completely”, style guides advise against using it alone as a negation, though the use is common.[10][2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 21
  7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 73
  8. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  9. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana