Etymologically
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cui

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Pronunciation

Forms

cui (invariable)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin cui (“to whom, to which”), the dative of the relative pronoun Latin quī (“who, which”).[2][3][4][1] Devoto gives the older Latin form quoi.[5] In Italian the dative spread to all the cases other than the nominative and accusative, and it serves as the oblique form of che.[5][3] Sicilian cu, also found in Calabrian, has become an interrogative “who”, even in the nominative.[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is the Ritmo laurenziano, from the end of the 12th or the beginning of the 13th century, as a relative used with prepositions.[2] GRADIT, Nocentini and Zingarelli date it before 1250.[4][3][7]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used cui also without a preposition, for the dative and the genitive, and as a direct object: Dante writes “O tu, cui colpa non condanna” and “E 'l ciel cui tanti lumi fanno bello”.[4][8][9] It could also be an interrogative, as in Minos's warning “guarda com'entri e di cui tu ti fide” (look how you enter and whom you trust, Inferno 5).[4][10][7] Petrarch's “Voi cui fortuna ha posto in mano il freno” shows the dative without a, which remains literary.[10][11]

Modern Italian keeps cui after prepositions, and between article and noun with the sense “whose”.[4][8] The conjunction per cui “so, therefore” is colloquial, and Zingarelli advises against it.[7][10]

Timeline

  • Late 12th or early 13th century – First record, in the Ritmo laurenziano.[2]
  • Before 1250 – GRADIT's date.[4]
  • 1306–1321 – Dante uses cui as an object and as an interrogative.[4][7]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. whom, which, after a preposition, in place of il quale, la quale and their plurals: la città in cui sono nato, l'amica con cui parlavo.[4][9][8]
  2. (literary) To whom, without a: il maestro cui devo tutto.[4][7][10]
  3. whose, between the article and the noun: uno scrittore i cui romanzi ho letto tutti.[4][9][7]
  4. per cui: so, therefore: era tardi, per cui sono tornato a casa.[9][7][10]
  5. (literary) As a direct object, “whom”.[4][8][12]
  6. (archaic) As an interrogative, “whom”, in place of chi.[4][7]

Usage notes

Cui does not change for gender or number.[13][12] The phrases nella misura in cui (to the extent that) and ragion per cui (which is why) are common.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 126
  6. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1186
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  12. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca