Etymologically
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esattamente

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Pronunciation

  • /e.zat.taˈmen.te/[1]

Forms

esattamente[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian esatto + -mente: the adjective “exact” with the adverb suffix.[2][1][3][4] The adjective is a learned word from Latin exāctus (“exact, precise”), the past participle of exigō (“to drive out; to demand; to weigh exactly”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the vernacular version of the Constitutiones Aegidianae of 1357, from the Umbria–Romagna area, in the Latin-like spelling exactamente and the sense “carefully, precisely”.[3] GRADIT dates the word to before 1572.[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th and 17th centuries it meant “with care, with precision”: the GDLI quotes Cosimo Bartoli, Tasso, who wrote that Demetrius of Phalerum spoke about style “più che alcun altro esattamente” (more precisely than anyone else), and Galileo.[6][7] The modern use as a reply, “exactly, quite so”, appears beside the older sense of “in the right way, correctly”.[2][8] With a negation it softens a contradiction: non è esattamente vero “it is not quite true”.[2]

In southern dialects the popular form of the adjective, without its first syllable, is doubled to make an adverb: Tarantino sáttə-sáttə and Barlettano satt-satt mean “exactly, just right”.[5]

Timeline

  • 1357 – exactamente appears in the Constitutiones Aegidianae.[3]
  • Before 1572 – GRADIT's date of first record.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. exactly, precisely, accurately: Ha misurato esattamente la stanza.[2][9][8]
  2. just, quite, in every respect: È esattamente quello che volevo.[2][9]
  3. (as a reply) exactly, that's right: «Parti domani?» «Esattamente.»[2][8]

Usage notes

In a negative sentence it softens what is said: non è esattamente simpatico “he is not exactly pleasant”.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  4. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  5. ^ a b Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 21, 858
  6. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5, 296
  7. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  9. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier