asso

Forms

asso m (plural assi)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin as (“as, the unit coin”), from the accusative ⟨assem⟩;^[2][3][1] Nocentini calls it a popular outcome that moved into the masculine nouns in ⟨-o⟩, and Wiktionary posits Vulgar Latin *assus.^[2][3][1] DEI, Zingarelli and GDLI call it a learned word instead.^[4][5][6] The learned doublet is asse, the Roman coin.^[2][3]

The Latin unit of the coinage was transferred to the game of dice for the lowest throw, then to cards.^[3] The same use is French as, recorded in dice in the 12th century, and Spanish as.^[4][3] The Latin coin was at first a rectangular bronze plaque weighing a pound;^[7][1] Ernout and Meillet suspected a loanword, perhaps from Etruscan, like lībra and nummus.^[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Florentine poet Carnino Ghiberti, in the 13th century, for the face of a die with a single mark, the lowest value.^[8][3] The Ottimo commentary on Dante (14th century) explains the lowest throw of three dice as quando ciascuno dado viene in asso “when each die comes up as an ace”.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used the dice sense in phrases of bad luck: essere nell’asso, to be in a bad position, and tre asso, the lowest score.^[8] In many card games the ace became instead the highest card, as in briscola, and this gave the sense of a person who excels.^[2][9] Belli used it in 1831 for the most important person, and Tuscan said è l’asso of something excellent.^[2][10] The modern sense of a champion spread from military language in the First World War, recorded by Panzini in 1918 for an aviator who distinguished himself;^[2][10] Prati took this use from French as (1916).^[2][10]

Avere l’asso nella manica comes from the card cheat who keeps an ace up his sleeve to play at the right moment.^[2] Lasciare in asso and rimanere in asso probably also come from games, from scoring the lowest point at dice;^[2][4] DEI derived them from Latin assus (“roasted”), through the senses “dry”, “unmixed” and “alone”, a view DELI finds very hypothetical.^[2][4] A folk etymology linked the phrase with Ariadne abandoned by Theseus on Naxos, which produced lasciare in Nasso in Davanzati and in Lippi's Malmantile.^[2]

Timeline

• 1250–1300 – Carnino Ghiberti uses asso of a die.^[8][3]
• 1300s – The Ottimo commentary on Dante explains the lowest throw of three dice.^[2]
• 1831 – Belli uses asso for the most important person.^[2]
• 1918 – Panzini records asso for an outstanding aviator.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. ace: the playing card with a single mark, worth one, in many games the highest card: un poker d’assi.^[11][12][13]
2. The face of a die with a single dot.^[11][9][5]
3. The domino piece with a single dot.^[11][5]
4. (figurative) A person who excels at something, a champion: Mia sorella è un asso negli scacchi.^[11][12][9]

Related words

• asse
• Latin as

Usage notes

Lasciare or piantare in asso is to abandon someone suddenly, and avere un asso nella manica to keep a decisive resource in reserve.^[12][5][14] DEI has a separate old asso “dry” (13th century), from Latin assus “roasted”.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 333
5. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
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 Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
10. ^ a b c Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 80
11. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
12. ^ 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
13. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana