assai

Forms

assai (superlative (humorous) assaissimo)^[1] Dialect forms include Genoese assae, Piedmontese assè and Old Venetian assè (1321).^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *ad satis (“to sufficiency”), ad (“to”) with satis (“enough”).^{[3][4][5][1][2]} The sense “very, much”, which is the main one in Italian, already existed in the Latin adverb.^[2][6][7] Putting the preposition before an adverb was frequent in Vulgar Latin, as in ad post and ad retro.^[6]

The phrase lives on in all the Romance languages except Romanian and Rhaeto-Romance: French assez, Old Occitan assatz (from which Spanish asaz and Portuguese assaz), Catalan assau and Logudorese assás.^[2][4][8] Old French assez also meant “very”, and kept that sense until the 17th century.^[8][2]

The ending is irregular, since *assate would be expected.^[2] Rohlfs explains it as a shortening due to weak stress, with final /s/ becoming /i/ as in crai from crās (“tomorrow”).^[2] DEI and Devoto start from a reduced *adsa(t)s, comparing dai from dās and noi from nōs.^[6][9] Körting instead adds an adverbial ⟨i⟩ by analogy with avanti, anzi and poi.^[10] An Abruzzese form at Corfinio, ⟨assétə⟩, keeps the ⟨t⟩ of the etymon.^[2]

The Latin adverb was perhaps a fixed nominative of a noun *sati- “satisfaction”, from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂-ti-; it is related to satur (“well-fed”) and to Ancient Greek ἅδην (hádēn, “to one's fill”).^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is from Giacomo da Lentini, before 1250, in the senses “very” and “enough”.^[3] The LEI's first clear example of the sense “enough, sufficiently” is from Bono Giamboni, before 1292.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The LEI distinguishes four senses: “enough”, the original Latin one;^[2] “very, much”, now the main one;^[2] “often”, only in Old Bolognese and a few dialects; and “too much”, mostly in southern Italy.^[2] They are close to one another, so they are not always easy to tell apart.^[2] Petrarch has the old sense in Non pianger più: non m'hai tu pianto assai? (“Weep no more: have you not wept enough for me?”).^[7][12]

In the standard language assai comes before adjectives and adverbs to form a superlative, while in southern use it often follows them.^[13][14] Used ironically, it means “not at all”.^[5][15] The literary d'assai means “by far”, and of a person “of great worth”.^[15][13] As a noun it meant “a great quantity” and, in the plural, “the many”: Castiglione writes of good merchants who risk little to gain l'assai.^[5][13]

As a musical direction, assai “very” was borrowed into German by 1732 and French by 1834, and into English.^[16]

Timeline

• Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses assai.^[3]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for “enough, sufficiently”.^[2]
• 1321 – Old Venetian assè is recorded.^[2]
• 1472 – Old Neapolitan assai is recorded.^[2]
• 1732 – German records assai as a musical term.^[16]
• 1834 – French records assai as a musical term.^[16]

Meanings

Adverb

1. very, quite (before an adjective or adverb): Il viaggio è stato assai faticoso.^[5][15][17]
2. Much, a lot (with a verb; in the south often after it): Ieri abbiamo camminato assai.^[15][14][13]
3. (literary) enough, sufficiently;^[5][14][15] averne assai, to have had enough.^[5][14][15]
4. (ironic) Not at all: Gliene importa assai, a lui!^[5][17][12]

Adjective

1. (invariable) Much, many: C'erano assai turisti in piazza.^[15][12][18]

Noun

1. (rare) A great quantity; in the plural, the many, as in i pochi e gli assai.^[5][15][12]

Related words

• sazio
• Latin satis
• French assez

Usage notes

Assai is less popular than molto in the sense “very”.^[13] The superlative assaissimo is used jokingly.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 1, 832
3. ^ a b c Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 327
7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 44
10. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
13. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ a b c d 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 c d e f g h Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
16. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
17. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
18. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli