lontano

Forms

lontano (feminine lontana, masculine plural lontani, feminine plural lontane, superlative lontanissimo); also an adverb^[1] Around 1300 some Tuscan texts have lungitano.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *longitānus (“distant”), formed from the adverb Latin longiter (“far, for a long way”) or longē (“far”), both from longus (“long; far”).^[2][3][1] Nocentini analyses it as a derivative of the adjective with the suffix -itānus, which in Latin made names for the people of a place.^[4] Devoto says it took the place of the older longinquus (“distant”).^[5] Italian keeps the adverb itself in lungi.^[6]

The same Vulgar Latin adjective is French lointain, Occitan lonhdan and Catalan llunyedà, and Wiktionary adds Sicilian luntanu, Friulian lontan, Romansh lontan and Dalmatian luntun.^[6][4][7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is before 1250, in poems by Giacomo da Lentini and Frederick II, for “separated by a long distance”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The sense “remote in time” is in Dante, before 1321, and “absent” in Petrarch in 1374; the adverb “far away” is in Cino da Pistoia before 1337.^[2] Lontananza is in Guido Guinizelli before 1276, and Boccaccio uses it for absence.^[2] The figurative uses came later: “different” in Bembo (1505), “averse to” in Berni before 1535, and for a distant relative in Salviati before 1589.^[2] In 1623 Galileo and his opponent “Lotario Sarsi” argued over how relative the word is, in Il Saggiatore.^[2]

Modern Italian also uses it for a vague idea or a faint hope (un lontano sospetto) and for someone who seems absent-minded.^[3][8]

Timeline

• Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini and Frederick II use lontano.^[2]
• Before 1276 – Guinizelli uses lontananza.^[2]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for “remote in time”.^[2]
• Before 1337 – Cino da Pistoia uses the adverb.^[2]
• 1505 – Bembo uses it for “different”.^[2]
• 1623 – Galileo discusses the word in Il Saggiatore.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. far, distant; also at a stated distance: Il paese è lontano venti chilometri.^[3][8]
2. Remote in time, past or future: un'epoca lontana.^[3][8]
3. (figurative) Distant in an abstract sense: kept away from, far from (lontano dalla realtà), not inclined to; of relatives, not close.^[3][8]
4. (figurative) Vague, faint: un lontano ricordo^[3]
5. (figurative) Different, divergent: opinioni molto lontane.^[3]
6. Absent; detached, absent-minded: Oggi ti vedo lontano.^[3][8]

Adverb

1. Far, a long way off: Abitano lontano dal mare.^[1][3][8]

Word family

• lontananza
• lontanamente
• allontanare
• allontanamento

Related words

• lungo
• lungi
• French lointain

Usage notes

Alla lontana means “distantly, vaguely” (cugini alla lontana), prenderla alla lontana “to approach a subject indirectly” and andare lontano “to go far, to succeed”.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2268
8. ^ 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