Etymology and origin of the Italian word lassù
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Compound
- First attested
- 13th century, Giacomino da Verona
- Ultimate origin
- Latin illa,-ce,susum
From the same root
Forms
lassù (archaic lassuso; also written là su)[2][3]
Etymology
It is from Italian là (“there”) + su (“up”); the oldest texts spell it “la su”.[4][5][6][1] The archaic form “lassuso” is built in the same way on suso, the older form of su.[7][8] The double /ss/ reflects the doubling of the consonant after a stressed final vowel (raddoppiamento sintattico) in the phrase “là su”.[8] Its counterpart is laggiù, formed in the same way with giù.[5][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
The first record is the 13th-century poetry of Giacomino da Verona, in the form la su, with the sense “up there, in that high place”.[4][6] Zingarelli dates the word before 1276.[9]
Semantic evolution
Dante uses lassù for heaven and paradise in the Inferno (1300–1308), and di lassù “from heaven” before 1321; in the Paradiso he writes that splendour is gained lassù by rejoicing.[4][10] Petrarch speaks of “the fury from up there” (il furor di lassù) of the northern peoples descending on Italy, the first use of the word for a place in the north (before 1374).[4][10] Boccaccio uses it for a high place in the Decameron.[10]
The religious sense lives on in phrases such as quel di lassù, God, and the Tuscan proverb il giudizio di lassù non la sbaglia mai, “the judgement from on high never errs”.[10] In modern Italian lassù can also stand where the old costassù would have been used, for the place where the listener is.[3][11]
Timeline
- 13th century – Giacomino da Verona writes la su.[4][6]
- 1300–1308 – Dante uses lassù for heaven.[4]
- Before 1321 – Dante uses di lassù “from heaven”.[4]
- Before 1374 – Petrarch uses the word for a northern land.[4]
- 14th century – The form lassuso is recorded.[7]
Meanings
Adverb
- up there: in or to a high place away from the speaker and the listener: Il rifugio è lassù, dietro quella cresta.[6][3][9]
- (by extension) Up north, in a distant northern land: Lassù in Finlandia d'inverno il sole sorge appena.[6][3][8]
- Before another adverb or a phrase of place, for emphasis: lassù sul tetto.[6][2]
- (colloquial) In heaven, in paradiso, di lassù “from heaven”: Sono sicuro che la nonna ci guarda di lassù.[6][2][8]
Related words
Usage notes
Lassù is the opposite of laggiù, and in the religious sense of quaggiù, “here on earth”.[9][3] The two-word spelling là su is now rare.[3][11]
References
- ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
- ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
- ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
- ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2174
- ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
- ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
- ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
- ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
Cite this entry
“Lassù.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/lass%C3%B9. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.
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