dipoi

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin dē post (“from after”), the same phrase that gave dopo.^[1][2][3][4] Zingarelli, Sabatini–Coletti, Gabrielli and Devoto treat it instead as a compound formed within the language, from Italian di + poi, written as one word.^[5][6][7][8] Wiktionary combines the two: inherited, but by surface analysis a univerbation of the preposition and the adverb.^[2]

poi itself continues Latin post (“behind, after”), which first had a sense of place;^[1] Nocentini compares Lithuanian pàs (“near”) and Albanian pas (“after”).^[1] In that word and in its doublet the vowel /e/ of the preposition became /o/ before the labial, a change DELI calls not unusual.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Zingarelli dates the word to about 1261;^[5][3][1] GRADIT and Nocentini date it before 1300, GRADIT in the old variant dipo, and it meant “then, afterwards”.^[5][3][1]

Semantic evolution

In older Italian dipoi had the uses of dopo as a preposition too, and di poi che served as a conjunction, “after”.^[4][10] Ariosto writes Di poi che ’l fuoco scalda e l’acqua bagna (“since fire warms and water wets”).^[10] Machiavelli and Galileo used the adverb in prose: fu prima diminuita da' Franciosi, dipoi spenta da' Romani (“was first diminished by the French, then extinguished by the Romans”).^[10]

Today it is uncommon and literary.^[3][4] As an adjective it follows its noun and means “following, next”: Collodi writes Il giorno dipoi (“the following day”).^[6][4]

Timeline

• c. 1261 – Zingarelli's first date for dipoi.^[5]
• Before 1300 – GRADIT's first record, in the form dipo.^[3]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (literary) Then, afterwards, later on: Partirono all'alba e dipoi non se ne seppe nulla.^{[3][5][6][10]}
2. (archaic) As a preposition, after;^[10][4][2] di poi che, after (introducing a clause).^[10][4][2]

Adjective

1. Invariable, after a noun: following, next: la settimana dipoi.^[3][5][4]

Related words

• poi
• dopo
• di
• poiché
• Latin post

Usage notes

It is also written as two words, di poi.^{[10][6][4][2]}

References

1. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
2. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
3. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier