modo

Forms

modo m (plural modi)^[1] Old Italian also had muodo, still found in the dialects of Arezzo and Venice.^[2][3][4] The shortened form mo’ survives in a mo’ di “by way of”.^[5][6]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin modus (“measure; rule; manner”), a learned word.^[7][5][8][1] DEI places it in an Italian tradition that is half learned, and Prati thinks the form came by the literary route, while the dialects of Arezzo and Venice have a diphthong, as in an inherited word.^[2][3] Kept forms elsewhere are Old French muef, Old Occitan mo, Catalan mou, Old Spanish muedo and Romansh mied “melody”; French mode and Spanish modo are learned, like the Italian.^[9][2][5]

In Latin the noun meant “measured amount, size, limit”, and it took on special senses in music, grammar, architecture, agriculture, law and philosophy.^[10][5] As a philosophical term it translated Ancient Greek τρόπος (trópos).^[2] It goes back to Proto-Indo-European *modós (“measure”), from the root *med- (“to measure”), which is also in medeor (“to heal”) and meditor (“to reflect”) (medico and meditare).^[5][1][10] De Vaan compares Umbrian ⟨mers⟩ “law” and Ancient Greek μήδεα (mḗdea, “counsels, plans”).^[10][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Brunetto Latini, before 1294, for “means, expedient, opportunity”.^[7][8] Iacopone da Todi, before 1306, uses it for the way something is or acts: “Tre modi fa a l’anema peccato percussure” (in three ways sin strikes the soul).^[7][4]

Semantic evolution

Dante uses it for “custom, style” in 1304–1308, and Francesca says of her death in Inferno 5: “e 'l modo ancor m'offende” (and the manner of it still hurts me).^[7][4] The musical sense, the order of tones and semitones in a scale, is in Domenico Cavalca before 1342, and French took it over as a semantic loan in 1703.^[7][11] DELI finds the grammatical sense “mood” in the 14th century, while DEI dates it from Varchi in the 16th.^[7][2]

The plural modi “manners” appears around 1375, modo di dire “idiom” in Giovan Battista Gelli before 1563, and “limit, rule” in 1564.^[7] In law the Latin form modus was taken up in 1892 for a burden placed on the receiver of a gift.^[2] The derivative modalità (1789) was opposed by the purists as a Gallicism.^[7]

Timeline

• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses modo for “means, opportunity”.^[7]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for “custom, style”.^[7]
• Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses it for “manner of being or acting”.^[7]
• Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses the musical sense.^[7]
• 14th century – The grammatical sense “mood” appears.^[7]
• c. 1375 – The plural is used for “manners”.^[7]
• Before 1563 – Gelli uses modi di dire for idioms.^[7]
• 1703 – French borrows the musical sense of mode.^[11]
• 1789 – Modalità appears.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. way, manner in which something happens or is done: Mi ha risposto in un modo sgarbato. With in and an adjective it forms adverbial phrases (in modo strano).^[8][12][6]
2. Usually plural, manners, behaviour towards others: ha modi bruschi con i clienti.^[8][12]
3. Style, habit; one's own way or taste: fa tutto a modo suo.^[8][13]
4. Method, means of reaching an aim: Bisogna trovare un modo per uscirne.^[8][6][13]
5. Opportunity, chance: Non c'è stato modo di avvisarti.^[8][6]
6. Proper limit, measure: bere senza modo.^[8][6]
7. (grammar) mood of a verb: il modo congiuntivo.^[8][6][1]
8. (music) mode, the arrangement of tones and semitones in a scale.^[8][1]
9. (law) A burden imposed on the receiver of a gift or legacy.^[8][2]

Word family

• modale
• modalità
• ammodo
• smodato
• smodatezza
• trasmodare

Related words

• moda
• modico
• moderare
• modesto
• modificare
• Latin modus

Usage notes

Common phrases are in qualche modo “somehow”, ad ogni modo “anyway”, di modo che “so that”, per modo di dire “so to speak” and modo di dire “idiom”.^[8][13][14] The southern adverb mo “now” is a separate word, from the adverb Latin modo (“just now”).^[9][15]

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 Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2485
3. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 670
4. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
5. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
12. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
14. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
15. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 61