intero

Forms

intero (feminine intera, masculine plural interi, feminine plural intere)^[1] The older form is Old Italian entero, recorded in Guittone d'Arezzo.^[2][3] The variant intiero is literary or regional.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin integer (“untouched, whole, intact”), from the accusative, through a spoken form Vulgar Latin *intĕgrum stressed on the second syllable, in place of the classical stress on the first.^[3][6][2][1] From the 6th century AD the Latin adjective had taken on the meaning of Latin tōtus (“all, whole”).^[3] The learned word integro, taken from the same Latin adjective later, is its doublet.^[1][7]

The word is found across the Romance languages: French entier, Spanish entero, Portuguese inteiro, Sardinian intreu and Romanian întreg.^[6] According to DEI the exceptions are central and southern Italy, Provençal and Catalan, which have a semi-learned type with the ending ⟨-egre⟩.^[8] The Latin adjective goes back to a form Proto-Italic *in-tagros, built from the root of Latin tangō (“to touch”) with the negative prefix in-, so that its first sense was “untouched”.^[6][4][9]

The usual pronunciation with a close stressed /e/ is hard to explain from the Latin short vowel.^[3] DELI follows Sebastiano Timpanaro, who accepted a proposal of E. H. Tuttle (1915): there were two spoken variants, one giving intiero and an open /ɛ/, the other, with /ĭ/, giving the close /e/.^[3] Nocentini also starts from a Vulgar Latin *intĭgrum with the stress moved forward, as happens in words stressed on the third syllable from the end when the last syllable begins with a consonant cluster.^[6] The form with ⟨ie⟩ is in his view the expected outcome of the form with /ĕ/, and the variant with close /e/ a blend of the two.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Guittone d'Arezzo (before 1294), in the form enter “whole”: “ch'un solo motto trare / ne possa enter” (that I can draw out a single whole word).^[3][10][2] DELI dates the form intero to Dante (before 1321), who writes of the angels and the heavens “sì come sono, in loro essere intero” (as they are, in their whole being).^[3][10]

Semantic evolution

From the start the adjective meant both “having all its parts” and, of qualities, “perfect, firm, absolute”, a sense DELI finds in Rinaldo d'Aquino.^[3] Antonio Pucci (before 1388) used it for something taken in its full extent.^[3] Dante called the righteous Mordecai “al dire e al far così intero” (so upright in word and deed), a moral sense that is now literary.^[11][5][7]

The noun intero “the whole” is recorded in Pietro Bembo (1500), and in mathematics, for a whole number, in Cosimo Bartoli (1564).^[3] In botany a leaf with a smooth margin is called intera from 1813.^[3] Latte intero, whole milk, is recorded in 1769, but Tommaseo's dictionary noted in 1869 that it did not seem to be Tuscan usage.^[3] In the 17th century writers still hesitated between intero and intiero.^[3]

Derivatives appear early: interamente “entirely” in Dante's Convivio (1304–1308) and interezza “wholeness” in the 14th century, with the figurative sense “moral integrity” about 1300.^[3] Nocentini derives intirizzire “to stiffen with cold” (17th century) from intero in the sense of the old interito “rigid”, with assimilation of the vowels.^[6][12]

Timeline

• Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses the form enter.^[3][2]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses interamente.^[3]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses the form intero.^[3]
• Before 1388 – Antonio Pucci uses it for something taken in its full extent.^[3]
• 1500 – Pietro Bembo uses the noun intero “the whole”.^[3]
• 1564 – Cosimo Bartoli uses intero for a whole number.^[3]
• 1769 – Latte intero “whole milk” is recorded.^[3]
• 1813 – Intera is used of a leaf with an even margin.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. whole, complete, having all its parts: Ho comprato la collana intera dei suoi romanzi.^[2][4][7]
2. Whole, taken in its full extent, size or duration: Abbiamo aspettato una settimana intera.^[2][4][11]
3. Of a ticket or fare, at full price, without reduction: Ho pagato il biglietto intero.^[2][4][5]
4. Of a sum of money, in a single banknote: Ho solo venti euro interi.^[2][4][11]
5. Unbroken, intact: La bottiglia è caduta ma è rimasta intera.^[2][4][7]
6. (colloquial, humorous) Of a person, unhurt: Dopo quel volo dalla bici era ancora tutto intero.^[2][4][11]
7. (figurative) Full, absolute: Ha la mia intera fiducia.^[2][4][5]
8. (literary) Morally upright, of integrity.^[2][11][7]
9. (mathematics) numero intero: an integer.^[5][7][13]
10. (botany) Of a leaf, with an even margin, without notches.^[7][5]
11. (animal husbandry) Not castrated.^[11][13]

Noun

1. The whole, the totality: Guardate le parti prima dell'intero.^[7][11][5]
2. per intero: in full, completely.^[11][5][13]
3. (mathematics) An integer.^[7][11][1]
4. (music) A semibreve.^[11]

Word family

• interamente
• interezza
• intirizzire

Related words

• integrale
• integro
• Latin integer
• French entier

Usage notes

Latte intero is whole milk, as opposed to skimmed milk.^[2][4] Wiktionary gives both /inˈte.ro/ and /inˈtɛ.ro/;^[1][3] DELI notes that the common pronunciation has the close vowel.^[1][3]

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 d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
6. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2065
9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 8, 250
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 561
13. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli