Etymologically
Log in

lì

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 19:20. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˈli/, /li/[1]

Forms

lì (adverb, invariable)[1] Old and Tuscan forms include lie (Lucca, Pisa, Livorno) and lici.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin illīc (“there, in that place”), an old locative of the demonstrative ille (“that”), strengthened with the deictic particle -ce.[4][5][6][7] The Latin adverb is illī with that particle added, as in hīc (“here”) and istīc (“there by you”).[8][1] The same word is Catalan allí, Spanish allí and Portuguese ali.[5][1] DELI refers to là, the companion adverb.[4]

Standard Italian lost the double /ll/ of the Latin form, but it survives in most regional varieties.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is before 1294 in Guittone d'Arezzo, in the sense “in that place”.[4][5] Dante has it in the Paradiso: “Ed ora lì, come a sito decreto, / cen porta la virtù di quella corda” (and now there, as to an appointed place, the power of that bowstring carries us).[9]

Semantic evolution

The temporal sense “then, at that moment” is in Dante's Commedia (1300–1313).[4] DELI cites Gerhard Rohlfs on its Tuscan partner costì “there, near you”, which is frequent in Dante but which Petrarch never used, as too Tuscan a word.[4]

In modern use lì marks a place nearer or more precisely fixed than là, and it is used to strengthen demonstratives (quello lì) and in commands (fermo lì!).[7][10] Phrases include lì per lì “on the spot, at first”, giù di lì “thereabouts” and essere lì lì per “to be on the point of”.[11][3][10]

Timeline

  • Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses lì “in that place”.[4]
  • 1300–1313 – Dante uses it for “at that moment”.[4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. there, in or to that place, not near the speaker; often paired with qui or qua: Metti le chiavi lì sul mobile.[11][6][7]
  2. Combined with other adverbs and prepositions to fix the place: lì dentro, lì vicino, di lì, fino lì.[11][6][12]
  3. After quello or ecco, to point at a person or thing: Mi passi quel quaderno lì?[11][7][12]
  4. For emphasis in commands and exclamations: Zitti lì![11][10][3]
  5. Of time, then, at that point: di lì a una settimana.[11][6][12]

Usage notes

In Tuscany lì doubles the first consonant of the following word.[7] By the rule of the grammars lì points at a place far from both speaker and listener, as against costì, but in ordinary use it also refers to a place near the listener.[7] In the dates of letters (Roma, lì 5 maggio) the word is written lì, although the form that belongs there etymologically is li, an old form of the article.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2219
  3. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  12. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana