interno

Forms

interno (feminine interna, masculine plural interni, feminine plural interne)^[1] Old Italian forms include interna, interne and interane.^[2]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin internus (“inner, internal”), formed on inter (“between, among”).^[3][4][5][1] DELI explains the Latin word as built on an unattested *interus, just as infernus (“lower”) is built on inferus.^[3][6] The same Latin word gave French interne (14th century) and Spanish interno.^[4][7]

According to DELI, all the Italian derivatives were formed later within Romance, at first mostly in medical terms.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is Francesco da Barberino's Reggimento e costumi di donna (1318–1320), with the sense “lying on the inside”;^[2][3][8] DELI's first date is Dante, before 1321, who has the interna riva, the inner shore, of the heavens.^[2][3][8]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used the adjective figuratively for what concerns the soul and the mind, and for what is hidden or secret.^[2] The sense “taking place within a state or a community” is recorded from Guidiccioni, before 1541.^[3] As a noun, interno meant the inner self from Annibal Caro, before 1566, and the inside of something from Frugoni (1666); the plural for a state's home affairs dates from 1797 in Venice.^[3]

From the 19th century the adjective and the noun named people who live or work within an institution: the boarder at a school (alunno interno, 1869), and a medical student or young doctor working in a hospital (1957).^[3] In football interno was an inside forward (1953), and in film interni are scenes shot in a studio (1942).^[3] In addresses interno is the number of a flat in a building, and on the telephone an extension.^[9][10][1]

Timeline

• 1318–1320 – Francesco da Barberino uses interno.^[2]
• Before 1321 – Dante speaks of the interna riva.^[3]
• Before 1541 – Guidiccioni uses it for what happens inside a state.^[3]
• Before 1566 – Annibal Caro uses the noun for the inner self.^[3]
• 1666 – Frugoni uses the noun for the inside of something.^[3]
• 1869 – Tommaseo–Bellini records alunno interno, a boarder.^[3]
• 1942 – Interni is recorded for film scenes shot indoors.^[3]
• 1957 – Interno is recorded for a hospital intern.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Inside, internal, inner: La giacca ha una tasca interna con la cerniera.^[5][11][12]
2. Facing inwards or towards the centre: la parte interna del ginocchio.^[5][11][13]
3. (geography) Inland, without access to the sea, acque interne are rivers, lakes and canals.^[5][11][9]
4. domestic, within a country's borders: politica interna, voli interni.^[5][11][12]
5. Within an organization or a group: Il partito è diviso da lotte interne.^[5][11][9]
6. (medicine) Relating to the internal organs: medicina interna.^[11][12]
7. (figurative) Of the mind or feelings, inward: una voce interna.^[5][12][10]
8. Of a person, living or working inside an institution: un alunno interno, un membro interno della commissione.^[12][13]
9. (sports) Played at home: una vittoria interna.^[12][9][13]

Noun

1. The inside, the interior: L'interno della chiesa è affrescato.^[1][14][3]
2. (figurative) A person's inner self.^[3][14]
3. A flat in a building, and its number: Abito in via Roma 5, interno 12.^[9][10][1]
4. A telephone extension.^[1][9]
5. An intern, a doctor or medical student working in a hospital.^[3][1]
6. (in the plural, cinema) Scenes shot indoors or in a studio.^[3]
7. (in the plural, politics) Home affairs.^[3]

Word family

• internamente
• internare
• internamento
• internato
• internista

Related words

• all'interno
• dall'interno
• interiore
• dentro
• Latin inter

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2065
8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
11. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
14. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET