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alcuno

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word alcuno

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
before 1294, Brunetto Latini
Inherited from
Latin *alicunus

Pronunciation

Forms

alcuno (feminine alcuna, masculine plural alcuni, feminine plural alcune); before a vowel and most single consonants the masculine singular is shortened to alcun.[1][2] Northern Italian dialects have forms such as Lombard vergü (Brescia) and vergùn (Trentino), and southern ones forms such as Neapolitan ngunu.[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *alicūnus, a compound formed in speech from Latin aliquis (“someone”) and ūnus (“one”).[4][5][6][1] Strengthening ⟨aliquis⟩ with ⟨unus⟩ was already a way of speaking in Cicero, and the LEI notes that the compound took in both the pronoun ⟨aliquis⟩ and the adjective aliquī.[3][4] Nocentini calls it a Romance formation of Latin origin.[5] Wiktionary instead starts from the accusatives ⟨aliquem⟩ and ⟨unum⟩, as Devoto–Oli and Treccani do.[1][7][8]

The same formation is French aucun, Occitan alcun, Catalan algú, Spanish alguno and Portuguese algum, and also Romansh alchün and Friulian alkúin.[5][9][3] DEI notes that it is found in nearly all the Romance languages but not in Romanian.[10] The Latin pronoun is made of the indefinite stem ali- and quis (“who”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record of the sense “someone, one” is in Brunetto Latini, before 1294; the LEI dates it from 1292 in Bono Giamboni.[4][3] GDLI quotes Latini's Rettorica: “per colpa d'alcuno il quale à sopra lui forza e signoria” (through the fault of someone who has power and lordship over him).[11] The negative sense “nobody, none” is recorded about as early, in Guittone d'Arezzo.[4] GRADIT dates the word to about 1274.[6]

Semantic evolution

Because the word was used so often with a negation, Old Italian alcuno came to mean “none” by itself, as French aucun still does.[9][10] In the modern language that meaning survives in negative sentences (senza alcun dubbio) while the plural alcuni means “some, a few”.[6][7] In the singular, positive sense “some, any” (per alcun tempo) it is now literary, and the old sense “a, one” is obsolete.[7][12][2] Old Italian also had alcunamente, an adverb modelled on the French aucunement.[3] The pronoun alcunché “anything” is first recorded before 1729.[5]

Timeline

  • About 1274 – GRADIT's date of first record.[6]
  • 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses alcuno “someone”.[3]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for “someone” and Guittone d'Arezzo for “nobody”.[4]
  • 1358 – Old Sicilian alcunu is recorded.[3]
  • Before 1729 – alcunché “anything” is first recorded.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (plural) some, a few, an indefinite but small number of: Ho letto alcuni capitoli del libro.[6][7][12]
  2. (singular, in negative sentences) no, not any; also placed after the noun for emphasis: Non c'è alcuna fretta, senza motivo alcuno.[6][7][8]
  3. (literary) (singular) Some, a certain amount of: per alcun tratto.[7][12][2]
  4. (archaic) A, one.[6][7][8]

Pronoun

  1. (plural) Some people or things, a few: Alcuni sono rimasti a casa.[6][7][8]
  2. (singular, in negative sentences) nobody, none: Non ne ho trovato alcuno.[6][7][12]
  3. (literary) (singular) someone.[7][12][2]

Word family

  • alcunché

Usage notes

In correlation the plural is paired with itself or with altri: alcuni… altri… “some… others…”.[7][12][2] Zingarelli sets out when the masculine singular is shortened: alcun before a vowel and most single consonants, but alcuno before s plus consonant, z and x; the feminine is elided before a vowel (alcun’anima).[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 2, 46
  4. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 116
  11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 1, 296
  12. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Alcuno.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/alcuno. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·