Etymologically
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giusto

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈd͡ʒus.to/[1]

Forms

giusto (feminine giusta, masculine plural giusti, feminine plural giuste, superlative giustissimo)[1] An old spelling is iusto.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin iustus (“just, lawful”), “in keeping with the law”, from iūs (“law, right”).[5][6][2][1] The Latin word was both an adjective and, later, a noun.[5] The GDLI calls the Italian word semi-learned.[7] The same word is French juste, Occitan juste, Catalan just, Spanish justo and Portuguese justo;[6][8][9] Romanian lacks it.[6][8][9]

The Latin adjective is recorded in an old form iouestod on an inscription from the Forum.[10][11] Wiktionary takes it from Archaic Latin iovestos, from the stem of the word for “law” with the suffix -tus.[1] De Vaan traces that noun to Proto-Italic *jowos “oath, law” and an Indo-European word meaning “vital force”.[10]

DEI holds that the adverb in the sense “exactly, precisely” (17th century) is very probably the French adverb, which also passed into German and English; the adverb “justly” was older and is in Dante.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT and Nocentini date the word before 1274, in the form iusto.[2][6] DELI's first record is in Brunetto Latini, before 1294, in the sense “in keeping with justice”, with many other examples from the same century; the noun “righteous person” is in Guittone d'Arezzo at the same time.[5] Guittone writes Deletta giusto in giustisia (the just man delights in justice).[7]

Semantic evolution

The sense “not too much and not too little” is in Dante (1304–1308), and “fitting, suitable” in Paolo da Certaldo in the 14th century.[5] “Exact, precise” is dated 1550 (Vasari), though a document from Cagliari already speaks of misure juste in 1318.[5] Giordano da Pisa, before 1311, applies the word to a judge, and Dante's Giusti son due (two are just, Inferno 6) uses it as a noun.[5][7]

The adverb “exactly” is in Ariosto (1532), and “just, precisely” in Boccalini (before 1613).[5] The noun “what is due by justice” is recorded before 1555.[5] In music giusto marks a strict tempo or a perfect interval; the musical term passed into French, into English in the 19th century and into German in 1839.[12][13][14]

Timeline

  • Before 1274 – The form iusto is recorded.[2][6]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses giusto for “in keeping with justice”, Guittone uses it as a noun.[5]
  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for “neither too much nor too little”.[5]
  • Before 1311 – Giordano da Pisa uses it of one who judges justly.[5]
  • 1532 – Ariosto uses the adverb “exactly”.[5]
  • 1550 – Vasari uses it for “exact, precise”.[5]
  • 1839 – The musical term is recorded in German.[12]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. just, fair: acting or judging according to justice: un arbitro giusto.[2][15][16]
  2. In keeping with justice: una legge giusta, una giusta punizione.[2][15]
  3. Legitimate, well-founded; deserved: una giusta pretesa.[2][13]
  4. Right, correct, exact: il risultato giusto, l'ora giusta.[2][13][14]
  5. Suitable, appropriate: è l'uomo giusto per quel posto.[2][13]
  6. Of the right amount; of clothes, just the right size or slightly tight.[2][14]
  7. (music) Of an interval, perfect; of a tempo, strict.[13][14][12]

Adverb

  1. exactly, correctly: hai indovinato giusto.[15][3][1]
  2. Just, precisely: volevo giusto chiamarti.[3][1][5]

Noun

  1. A righteous person: dormire il sonno del giusto.[2][1][14]
  2. What is due or right: chiede solo il giusto.[5][14]

Word family

  • giustamente
  • giustezza
  • ingiusto
  • aggiustare
  • aggiustamento
  • raggiustare

Usage notes

GRADIT also has an obsolete, literary preposition giusto, a variant of giusta “according to”, from Latin iuxta.[2][17] Old examples include Chiaro Davanzati's a giusto mio podere (as far as I can).[17] DELI thinks that giusto mezzo (the happy medium) depends on French juste milieu (Pascal, before 1662).[5] Other common phrases are giusta causa (just cause) and il sonno del giusto (the sleep of the just).[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  4. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ 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, 914
  8. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1825
  9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  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. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  13. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  14. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  17. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 6, 919