enne

Forms

enne m or f (invariable)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin en, the Latin name of the letter ⟨n⟩.^[2][1] DEI calls the name Late Latin and dates it to the 4th century.^[3] Like the other names of continuous consonants, it took a final vowel in Tuscan;^[4][5] DELI and Nocentini treat these names together under effe.^[4][5]

The abbreviation N.N., read as two letter names, probably comes from the initials of nesciō (“I do not know”) nōmen (“name”), written in place of an unknown father's name.^[4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is from Luporo da Lucca at the start of the 14th century, and the TLIO's from the verse of Matteo Frescobaldi (before 1348), which spells out a name letter by letter: La prima avea un'Effe RA e Enne (“The first had an F, R, A and N”).^[4][7][8]

Semantic evolution

Luporo's sonnet also used the letter as the initial of a refusal, no or Latin nolumus “we do not want”, against sì or volumus.^[8] In mathematics n stands for an indefinite number, the source of ennesimo, first recorded in Panzini's dictionary of 1905 in the phrase elevare all'ennesima potenza “to raise to the nth power”, and of per l'ennesima volta “for the umpteenth time” (1923–1939, Ojetti).^[4][5][8]

Figlio di N.N. (“son of N.N.”) was the formula, now abolished, with which the registers recorded the paternity of illegitimate children.^[6]

Timeline

• Early 14th century – Luporo da Lucca uses the letter name.^[4]
• Before 1348 – Matteo Frescobaldi spells a name with Enne.^[7][8]
• 1905 – Panzini records ennesimo.^[4]
• 1923–1939 – Ojetti uses per l'ennesima volta.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The name of the letter n and of the sound it stands for: Scrivi Anna con due enne.^{[2][6][9][10]}
2. (mathematics) The symbol of an indefinite quantity.^[8][5]
3. (bureaucracy, historical) figlio di enne enne (N.N.): son of an unknown father.^[6][2]

Word family

• ennesimo

Related words

• effe
• elle
• emme
• Latin en

Usage notes

Zingarelli has two archaic homographs, ènne “there is to us” and “there is of it”, contractions of è with the particle ne, as in Dante's ed ènne dolce così fatto scemo (Paradiso 20).^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1481
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
8. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
10. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli