amico

Forms

amico m (plural amici, feminine amica, diminutive (especially in reference to a child) amichétto, (uncommon) amicùccio or amichìno, augmentative (jocular) amicóne)^[1] The oldest form is amigo (before 1243, Guido Faba).^[2] Northern Italian dialects have amis and southern ones amiciu, both remade on the plural amici.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin amīcus (“friend; friendly”), from amō (“to love”).^[5][6][7][1] Nocentini and the LEI count it among the words inherited from Latin, while DELI calls it a learned word.^[5][8][2] It continues in almost all the Romance languages, in the senses “friend” and “lover”: French ami, Occitan amic, Catalan amic, Spanish amigo, Portuguese amigo, Sardinian amiku, Friulian amî, Romansh amitg and Dalmatian amaik, but not in Romanian, which borrowed Romanian amic from Italian.^[8][4][1]

The Latin adjective is formed with the suffix -īcus, as in pudīcus and mendīcus.^[9][1][10] DEI compares the suffix with forms in Etruscan.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first records are amigo in Guido Faba before 1243 and amico in Giacomo da Lentini before 1250, in the sense of a person bound to another by friendship.^[2] Zingarelli gives 1213.^[11] The TLIO's first attestation is the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur of the last quarter of the 12th century.^[12]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used amico for a lover or companion, for a political ally or partisan, and, in religious language, for a good Christian, an amico di Dio.^[12] The adjective, “friendly, favourable”, is first recorded in Brunetto Latini's Rettorica (about 1260–1261).^[12] Amichevole is in the Novellino at the end of the 13th century.^[2]

Many modern phrases are built on it: amico per la pelle (bosom friend), amico del giaguaro (a friend who sides with one's opponent), l'amico dell'uomo (the dog), and in linguistics falso amico (false friend).^[11][13][6] Amico di penna is a calque of English pen friend.^[14] In Mafia language, and then in politics, an amico degli amici is someone who has gained influence through such protection.^[15]

Timeline

• Last quarter of the 12th century – The Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur use the word.^[12]
• Before 1243 – Guido Faba writes amigo.^[2]
• Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini writes amico.^[2]
• About 1260–1261 – The adjective in Brunetto Latini's Rettorica.^[12]
• End of the 13th century – Amichevole in the Novellino.^[2]
• Before 1588 – The diminutive amichetto is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. friend, a person bound to another by friendship: un amico dei tempi del liceo, una cena tra amici.^[6][14][16]
2. (euphemistic) A lover; a boyfriend: è venuta alla festa con il suo amico.^[6][16][11]
3. A person devoted to something, a lover of: un amico della montagna; often in the names of societies.^[6][17]
4. A supporter, an ally, a patron.^[6][11]
5. (ironic) A person one refers to without naming them: che voleva l'amico?^[6][16][13]

Adjective

1. friendly, kindly: uno sguardo amico.^[6][11][13]
2. (literary) Favourable, propitious: la sorte gli fu amica.^[6][16][17]
3. Allied: le navi amiche.^[16][17]

Word family

• amichetto
• amicone
• amichevole
• amicare

Related words

• amare
• amicizia
• nemico
• Latin amīcus

Usage notes

Proverbs include chi trova un amico trova un tesoro (who finds a friend finds a treasure) and patti chiari, amici cari (clear agreements make good friends).^[11][17][14] Amici come prima says that a disagreement leaves a friendship unchanged.^[6][15] The feminine is amica and the masculine plural amici.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 161
4. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
5. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
8. ^ a b Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 2, 793
9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
13. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
14. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
15. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. Supplemento 2009
16. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
17. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana