colui

Forms

colui m (feminine colei, plural coloro, demonstrative)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *eccum illui (“see, to him”), formed with the deictic eccum (“here he is”) and *illui, a dative of ille (“that”).^[2][3][4][1] This dative replaced the classical dative illī on the model of the relative cui (“to whom”), and so was at first only a dative before it spread to all cases.^[2][5][6][1] The feminine colei continues *eccu illaei and the plural coloro *eccu illorum.^[3][7]

The OLD explains the deictic as ecce (“behold”) with an older accusative of hic (“this”).^[8] The same type is French celui and Romanian acelui.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur of the last quarter of the 12th century.^[9][2][4] DELI's is the Breve di Montieri of 1219, in the form cului, with the sense “that one, that man”.^[9][2][4]

Semantic evolution

From the start it was mostly followed by a relative pronoun, as in Dante's line Tu se' solo colui da cu' io tolsi / lo bello stilo che m'ha fatto onore (“you are the only one from whom I took the fine style that has done me honour”).^[10][11] In Old Italian it also named God or Christ in periphrases, and colui dell'inferno was the Devil.^[9]

Placed between the article and the noun, it could act as a possessive, “his”: Boccaccio writes per lo colui consiglio (“by his advice”).^[9][10][12] Used on its own, without a relative, it now has a contemptuous tone, “that fellow”.^[4][10]

Timeline

• Last quarter of the 12th century – The Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur use it.^[9]
• 1219 – Cului appears in the Breve di Montieri.^[2][4]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. (literary) he, that man, the one, usually followed by a relative pronoun: Colui che arriva per primo vince.^{[4][13][6][1]}
2. (religion) With a capital, God, as in Dante's la gloria di Colui che tutto move.^[13][6]
3. Used on its own, (derogatory) that fellow: Non voglio avere a che fare con colui.^[4][10][12]
4. (archaic) Before a noun, as a possessive: his.^{[4][10][12][1]}

Related words

• costui
• lui
• ecco
• French celui

Usage notes

It refers to a person far from both speaker and listener, as against costui.^[1][11] Its feminine is colei and the plural for both genders is coloro.^[10][13]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b 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. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3, 335
12. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
13. ^ 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