Etymologically
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decisamente

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Pronunciation

  • /de.t͡ʃi.zaˈmen.te/[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian deciso + -mente.[2][3][1] The adjective deciso continues Latin dēcīsus, the past participle of dēcīdō (“to cut off; to settle”), from caedō (“to cut”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the writings of Pietro Verri (about 1797), in the sense “resolutely, without hesitation”: he noted that the truly wise women took up the defence of the person who was accused or mocked decisamente.[4][5][2]

Semantic evolution

The sense “without doubt, definitely” followed in Foscolo in 1816.[4] In the 19th century both senses were common in prose: Mazzini declared himself decisamente an opponent of the Papacy as it then was, and in De Sanctis a ministry rejects a motion decisamente.[5] Today the adverb mostly strengthens an adjective (“really, decidedly”) or stands alone at the head of a sentence meaning “no doubt about it”.[2][3]

Timeline

  • About 1797 – Pietro Verri uses decisamente “resolutely”.[4][5]
  • 1816 – Foscolo uses it in the sense “without doubt”.[4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. resolutely, decisively, without hesitating: Si è opposto decisamente alla proposta.[2][3][1]
  2. (intensifier) Really, decidedly: una cena decisamente cara.[2][3][1]
  3. (sentence adverb) Without doubt, definitely: Decisamente, oggi non è giornata.[3][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d e Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it
  5. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  6. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli