Etymologically
Log in

comunque

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Italian word comunque

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1288, Sienese translation of Giles of Rome
Ultimate origin
Latin quōmodo,umquam
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Italian come
Italian comunque

Pronunciation

  • /koˈmun.kwe/[1]

Forms

comunque (invariable)[1] Old Italian forms include comunche, chomunche and comunqua.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian come + -unque, with the indefinite suffix of chiunque and qualunque, giving the sense “in whatever way”.[3][4][5][1] DELI, DEI, the TLIO and the GDLI take the second part from Latin umquam (“ever”), as quōmodo (“how”) + ⟨umquam⟩;[6][7][2][8] Nocentini sees in ⟨-unque⟩ a blend of that adverb with the Latin indefinite ending -cumque.[3] GRADIT compares quōmodocumque (“in whatever way”).[4][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in a Sienese translation of Giles of Rome of 1288, with the sense “in whatever way”.[2] DELI's is in Bono Giamboni, before 1292;[6] the GDLI quotes him: Dico che, comunque si sia, egli ha tante ore la notte, quante el dì “I say that, however it may be, the night has as many hours as the day”.[8]

Semantic evolution

Besides “in whatever way”, Old Italian used comunque with a concessive sense, “although”, and a temporal one, “as soon as”, still found in Pulci and now archaic.[2][5] In the modern language the adverb is above all a connective, “in any case, anyway; however, all the same”, which can open a sentence or close a topic;[4][10] GRADIT also records it as a filler in speech.[4][10]

Timeline

  • 1288 – A Sienese translation of Giles of Rome uses comunque.[2]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it.[6]
  • 14th century – DEI dates the word to this century.[7]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. In any case, anyway, no matter what: Domani parto comunque.[4][10][1]
  2. (adversative) however, nevertheless: Ho la febbre, comunque mi sento bene.[4][5][1]
  3. In any way at all: Vestiti comunque, ma sbrigati.[10]

Conjunction

  1. (with the subjunctive) However, in whatever way: comunque finisca la partita.[4][5][1]
  2. (archaic) Although; as soon as.[4][5][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  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. ^ a b c d e 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 Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1042
  8. ^ 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, 449
  9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
Cite this entry

“Comunque.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/comunque. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·