Etymologically
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interno

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Pronunciation

  • /inˈtɛr.no/[1]

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

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