Etymologically
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forse

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Pronunciation

Forms

forse (invariable)[1][2] Old and rural forms are forsi and forsa.[3][4] GRADIT's first record is the Sicilian form forsi.[2] Venetian forsi and Lombard forsi keep the ending in -i.[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin forsit (“perhaps”), a fusion of fors (“chance, luck”) and sit (“may it be”), literally “be it chance”.[5][6][2][7][8] Devoto describes how an independent clause became an adverbial phrase and then an adverb.[9] Latin ⟨forsit⟩ competed with the more common forsitan, from a phrase meaning “perchance it be that”.[3][10] The word belongs to Italy, Sardinia and the Engadine: Sardinian forsis and Romansh forsa.[11][12]

The Latin noun continues Proto-Italic *forti- (“luck”); de Vaan, with a question mark, derives it from Proto-Indo-European *bʰr̥-ti- (“bearing”), from the root of ferō (“to carry”), and notes that Ernout and Meillet reject this connection.[10][1] Devoto takes “chance” as a euphemism, “what is borne” to each person.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Stefano Protonotaro, a poet of the Sicilian school, in the 13th century, in the sense “probably”, expressing doubt or possibility.[5][2] Dante has it in Inferno 10: “forse cui Guido vostro ebbe a disdegno” (whom perhaps your Guido held in disdain).[3]

Semantic evolution

With a number it means “about”, recorded around 1304 in Giordano da Pisa, and the noun forse, “doubt, uncertainty”, appears at the beginning of the 14th century in the Intelligenza.[5] Tommaseo quotes Bembo's remark that the ancients always wrote forse, while forsi was used later.[13] The Novellino already has forseché.[4]

The noun survives in phrases: in forse (in doubt, and of a life, in danger), mettere in forse (to call into question) and senza forse (certainly).[7][2] In questions the adverb means “by any chance”, and in rhetorical questions, often with non, it strengthens the expected answer.[2][14]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Stefano Protonotaro uses forsi.[5][2]
  • About 1304 – Giordano da Pisa uses it for “about”, with a number.[5]
  • Beginning of the 14th century – The noun “doubt” in the Intelligenza.[5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. perhaps, maybe, expressing doubt or probability: forse domani nevica.[2][14][1]
  2. Softening a statement: è forse il film più bello dell’anno.[2][14]
  3. With a number, about: eravamo forse in venti.[2][7]
  4. In questions, by any chance: hai forse visto le mie chiavi?[2][7]
  5. In rhetorical questions, often with non: non te l’avevo forse detto?[2][14]

Noun

  1. doubt, uncertainty: basta con i forse, decidi![2][1]

Word family

  • inforsare
  • forseché

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 6, 207
  4. ^ a b c Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 458
  5. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 188
  10. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  11. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1694
  12. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  13. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  14. ^ 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