che

che¹ who, which, what

Pronunciation

• /ˈke/^[1]

Forms

che^[1]

Etymology

The pronoun “who, which, what” is inherited from Latin quid (“what”), the neuter of quis (“who”),^[2][3][1] first written “que” in the Placito di Capua of 960.^[2][4] Nocentini derives only the interrogative from “quid”, and the relative from the accusative quem (“whom”) and the feminine quae, merged once the case distinction was lost;^[5] GRADIT gives both “quid” and “quem”,^[4] and Sabatini points to a Late Latin relative ⟨que⟩ written in 4th-century inscriptions of San Paolo fuori le Mura in Rome, in which forms of the relative and interrogative pronouns converged.^[6]

The interrogative is the same word as French quoi, Occitan que, Catalan que, Spanish que, Portuguese que, Sardinian chi and Romanian ce.^[5][7] Of the Romance languages only French keeps a nominative qui apart from an accusative que in the relative.^[5] Before a vowel the word was Old Italian ched, and with the ending of the adverbs in “-mente” it formed Old Italian chente (“what kind of”).^[8][7][9]

Latin “quid” goes back through Proto-Italic *kʷid to Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, from the root Proto-Indo-European *kʷi-, which in Latin and many other languages also became a relative pronoun.^[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Placito di Capua of 960, the first dated text in Italian, uses the relative, spelled que.^[2][4] The interrogative is first found in Giacomo da Lentini, before 1250: S'altri m'adomanda ched aggio eo (“If someone asks me what I have”).^[2][10]

Semantic evolution

The relative che serves as subject and object, and in popular and old usage also for other cases, with the sense “in which, when” (il giorno che…) most widely accepted.^[6][4] After a preposition it is literary, as in Manzoni's de' travagli in che mettono un povero galantuomo.^[6][4]

The interrogative stands for che cosa “what thing”, and the emphatic che è che? was patterned on French qu'est-ce que?.^[10] With an article it became an indefinite noun: Dante sees un non sapea che bianco (“a white something, I knew not what”, Purgatorio 2.23), and un certo non so che is a vague something.^[11]

Timeline

• 960 – The Placito di Capua uses the relative, spelled que.^[2]
• Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses the interrogative che.^[2]
• 1308–1321 – Dante uses the indefinite un non sapea che.^[11]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. (relative) who, whom, which, that, as subject or object: la ragazza che abita al piano di sopra.^[4][12]
2. (relative) In which, when, with a sense of time: l'anno che ci siamo conosciuti.^[4][12]
3. (relative) With an article or preposition, which thing, referring to a whole clause: Non mi ha risposto, il che mi preoccupa.^[4][8]
4. (interrogative) what: Che fai stasera?^[6][3]
5. (exclamative) What: Che mi tocca sentire!^[6]
6. (indefinite) Something, in phrases such as un certo che, un non so che.^[13]

Adjective

1. (interrogative and exclamative) What, which; what a: Che libro stai leggendo? Che bella giornata!^[6][4]

Word family

• checché
• alcunché
• chente

che² that

Etymology tree of che²

inherited borrowed derived

Latin quia

Italian che

Pronunciation

• /ke/^[1]

Forms

che^[1]

Etymology

The conjunction “that” is inherited from Latin quia (“because; that”), according to DELI an old neuter plural of quī (“who, which”).^[2][3][9][7] The sources weigh the Latin conjunctions differently: Wiktionary derives “che” from quod (“that, because”),^[1] GRADIT from a ⟨quid⟩ used for “quod”, perhaps with the influence of “quem”,^[4] and Nocentini sees a convergence of “quia”, “quid” and “quod”, which in the oldest Italian had given separate Old Italian ca, Old Italian ched and Old Italian co.^[5] Old Italian and southern Italian “ca” continues “quia” directly,^[7] and the “ko” of the Placito di Capua (“Sao ko kelle terre…”, “I know that those lands…”) continues “quod”.^[14] The comparative “che” “than” goes back further to Late Latin quam et, used before the second term of a comparison.^[5][12]

The same conjunction is French que, Occitan que, Catalan que, Spanish que, Portuguese que, Sardinian ca and Romanian că.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The conjunction is first found in Giacomo da Lentini, before 1250, introducing subordinate clauses of several kinds.^[2][4] One of his poems has Così m'è adivenuto, / che, lasso, l'avenente / lo vo cercando (“So it has happened to me that, alas, I go seeking the fair one”).^[14]

Semantic evolution

From the start the conjunction introduced object, subject and explanatory clauses, and with the indicative or the subjunctive it also marks cause, result, purpose and time.^[4][14] Before a vowel Old Italian wrote ched.^[8] It forms many compound conjunctions with a preposition or adverb (perché, poiché, affinché, nonché).^[5][4] In correlation with sia or tanto it means “both … and”.^[12]

Timeline

• Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses the conjunction che.^[2]
• c. 1300 – Nonché is first recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Conjunction

1. that, introducing a subject or object clause: Credo che abbia ragione.^[4][12]
2. Since, for, introducing a cause: Mettiti il cappotto, che fa freddo.^[4][3]
3. That, so that, introducing a result, often after così or tanto: Era così stanco che si addormentò subito.^[4]
4. So that, introducing a purpose, with the subjunctive.^[4][3]
5. When, since, with a sense of time: Sono anni che non lo vedo.^[4][3]
6. than, before the second term of a comparison.^[1][15]
7. With sia or tanto, both … and: sia i grandi che i piccoli.^[12]
8. With the subjunctive in a main clause, let, may: Che entri pure.^[1]
9. After a negative, except, but: Non pensa che al lavoro.^[15]

Word family

• perché
• poiché
• affinché
• nonché
• sicché
• benché