cioè

Etymology

It is from Italian ciò (“this”) + è (“is”), with the third person singular present of essere, written as one word.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} In the old manuscripts the difference between the joined and the separate spelling means little, and until the 16th century the phrase stood beside ciò sono, ciò era and ciò fu, with the verb still agreeing and changing tense; only later did the joined form become a single fixed word.^[2][6][7] Old Italian also had a form Old Italian cioène.^[7][8] The dictionaries compare it with Latin id est.^[7][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record of ciò è is in Pier della Vigna, who died in 1249, and of cioè in Giacomo da Lentini, before 1250.^[2][10] Pier della Vigna writes of the enemy “che m'à tolta madonna … ciò-è la morte fera” (who has taken my lady from me … that is, cruel death), and Giacomo da Lentini sings of the finest lady from Agri to Messina, “cioè la più avenente” (that is, the most charming).^[9]

Semantic evolution

Dante uses the word in prose and verse, and in Ugolino's speech in the Inferno: “ciò è come la morte mia fu cruda” (that is, how cruel my death was).^[9] Tommaseo still allowed the separate spelling but preferred the joined one, and quoted old plural uses with ciò sono.^[8]

Besides explaining, the word came to correct what has just been said (“or rather”), to ask for an explanation when used alone as a question, and in reinforced form cioè a dire.^[4][10][11] In colloquial speech it is also a filler with no clear meaning, a use that Wiktionary marks as proscribed.^[4][12][1]

Timeline

• Before 1249 – Pier della Vigna writes ciò è.^[2]
• Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini writes cioè.^[2]
• 16th century – Ciò è still alternates with ciò sono and ciò era.^[2]

Meanings

Conjunction

1. That is, namely, in other words: Ci vediamo dopodomani, cioè giovedì.^[4][5][6]
2. Or rather, correcting what has just been said: Te lo porto domani, cioè no, stasera.^[4][6][11]
3. As a question, asking for an explanation: E cioè?^[4][5][10]
4. (colloquial) A filler word without a precise meaning, like English “I mean”.^[4][12][1]

Related words

• ciò
• essere
• ossia
• Latin id est

Usage notes

GRADIT classes cioè as a conjunction, Devoto–Oli and Treccani as an adverb.^[4][5][11] The spelling cioé with an acute accent is a variant found in Wiktionary; the standard pronunciation has an open /ɛ/.^[1][10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 950
8. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
10. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli