ecco

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin eccum (“here he is!”), the colloquial form beside ecce (“behold”).^[2][3][4][5] The OLD analyses it as the particle and probably a pronoun ⟨*hum⟩ for ⟨hunc⟩, Wiktionary as the particle and eum (“him”).^[6][1] Nocentini explains the particle itself from an Italic pronominal base ⟨*ek⟩ and the deictic ⟨-ce⟩.^[3][7]

Old Latin shared the form with Oscan; it became common from the 3rd century, always competing with the particle.^[8] In Late Latin it strengthened pronouns and adverbs, and so it lives on inside quello and questo.^[3][8] As a word of its own it survives regularly only in Italian.^[9] Old texts have Old Occitan ec, Old French ez and Old Sardinian ⟨hecco⟩, and Logudorese has ⟨ekku⟩.^[9][10] It was borrowed as Old High German eggo.^[8][10]

Italian dialects show it fused with other words: ⟨adecco⟩ with ad, ⟨decco⟩ from a resegmented ⟨ed ecco⟩, and ⟨necco⟩ with ⟨in⟩.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The LEI's earliest records are from the middle of the 13th century, in the laude of Urbino, and, from Re Enzo, who died in 1272.^[9] DELI's first record is in Bono Giamboni (before 1292), in the sense “here is”, presenting a person: Ecco l'uomo, che s'accorda al postutto d'essere vostro fedele (“Here is the man who fully agrees to be your faithful servant”).^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Dante uses it for a sudden appearance: Ed ecco, quasi al cominciar de l'erta, / una lonza (“And behold, almost at the start of the slope, a leopard”, Inferno I).^[5] The forms with enclitic pronouns, eccomi, eccolo, eccoti, are recorded from Dante on, and Boccaccio has eccomi and eccole.^[9][11] Northern Old Italian had eco and echo.^[9]

In modern speech ecco presents what has just appeared or been found, answers a call (Eccomi!), introduces or sums up an explanation, and with a past participle marks a finished task: ecco fatto “there, done”.^[4][12][13] It is also a filler before a hesitant answer.^[14][1] Riecco “here again” is recorded from 1848.^[3] Prati records the saying ecco fatto il becco all'oca, said when a job is done to one's satisfaction.^[11]

Timeline

• Mid-13th century – Ecco appears in the laude of Urbino.^[9]
• 1274 – Pietro da Barsegapè uses it at Pavia.^[9]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it in Florence.^[2]
• About 1313 – Dante uses the forms with enclitic pronouns.^[9]
• 1848 – Riecco is first recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Here is, there is: points out or presents someone or something: Ecco il postino.^[4][15][13]
2. With enclitic pronouns: eccomi “here I am”, eccolo “here he is”, eccone “here are some”.^[4][12]
3. In answer to a call, “coming”, “here I am”.^[4][15][12]
4. Introduces or sums up an explanation: Ecco perché sono arrivato tardi.^[4][15][14]
5. With a past participle, marks something done: ecco fatto.^[12][16]

Interjection

1. Expresses hesitation, like “well…”, “um”.^[14][1]

Word family

• riecco

Related words

• quello
• questo
• Latin ecce

Usage notes

An obsolete ecco is a variant spelling of eco “echo”, recorded from the 14th century;^[4][8] Tommaseo–Bellini thought it was mostly used for the rhyme or a misreading.^[17]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
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. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 157
8. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1413
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 21, 142
10. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 398
12. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ 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
16. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
17. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET