nemmeno

Etymology

It is from Italian né + meno, written as one word.^[2][3][4][5] Né continues Latin nec (“and not”).^[6] Wiktionary adds that the Italian phrase may also continue Latin nē (“not”) minimum quidem “not even the least”, with the comparative in place of the superlative, and nec minus “nor less”.^[1] Tommaseo matched it with classical ⟨ne quidem⟩ “not even”, and quoted ⟨nec minus⟩ from Virgil.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record of the adverb and conjunction is in Marcello Malpighi, who died in 1694, in the sense “not even”.^[2] An earlier example from the preacher Giordano da Pisa, given by Tommaseo and by GDLI, is false: Tommaseo took it from the fourth Crusca dictionary, which recorded it under impattare.^[2] Zingarelli dates the word, also written né meno, to before 1535.^[8]

Semantic evolution

For a long time the phrase was written as two words: in 1848 Ugolini observed that many good modern writers used neppure and nemmeno, but that the Crusca recorded only nè pure and nè meno.^[2] Tommaseo recommended the single word, to keep the sense “not even” apart from né più né meno “neither more nor less”.^[7] Today it has the same meanings and uses as neanche and neppure.^[9][10] In colloquial speech it can also introduce a clause in the subjunctive with the value “as if”.^[3] Set phrases of refusal include nemmeno per sogno, nemmeno per idea and nemmeno morto.^[3][11]

Timeline

• Before 1535 – Zingarelli's date for the word.^[8]
• Before 1694 – Marcello Malpighi uses nemmeno “not even”.^[2]
• 1848 – Ugolini notes that the Crusca records only nè meno.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. not even: Non ha nemmeno risposto alla mia lettera.^[3][9][10]
2. neither, not … either, after a negative: Lui non c'era, e nemmeno sua sorella.^[3][1]

Conjunction

1. Not even, introducing a clause: nemmeno se lo pagassero.^[9][10][11]
2. (colloquial) With the subjunctive, as if: Mi ha guardato storto, nemmeno gli avessi rubato il posto.^[3]

Related words

• almeno
• neanche
• neppure
• né
• meno

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET, p. 3, 466
8. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli