netto

Forms

netto (feminine netta, masculine plural netti, feminine plural nette, superlative nettissimo)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *nittus, the form of Latin nitidus (“shining, gleaming”) that lost its inner vowel.^[1][2][3] DÉRom sets beside the full type /ˈnɪtid-u/ a syncopated type /ˈnɪtt-u/, which it takes to be very old, since it is found both in Sardinian and in a central area that includes Italian, Friulian, Ladin, Romansh, French, Occitan and Catalan; the new cluster /-td-/ was assimilated to /-tt-/.^[4] Devoto explains the Italian form by the same loss of the vowel and assimilation of the two consonants.^[5] The learned doublet is nitido.^[1][6][7]

The same word is French net, Occitan net and Catalan net, whence Spanish neto, Sardinian nidu (“white”) and Romanian neted (“smooth”).^[3][8] Meyer-Lübke took the Italian and Spanish words for loans from the Gallo-Romance and Catalan form,^[8] and DEI suspects an Occitan origin because the north pronounces the word with open /ɛ/.^[6] DELI, Nocentini and DÉRom treat it as inherited.^[2][3][4]

The adjective is formed from Latin niteō (“to shine”) + -idus.^[1][9] Its sense “clean, pure” is first found in Marcellus Empiricus, about 400 AD, and survives in the Gallo-Romance and Italo-Romance words.^[1] The verb has comparisons only in Celtic, and de Vaan finds no Indo-European root that fits its form and meaning.^[3][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Medieval Latin nitus is recorded at Venice in 1229.^[2] The first Italian record is commercial: a Sienese letter of 1262 speaks of pepper sold neto, that is net of deductions, and the same sense appears in a text of 1280.^[2] The general sense “free of stains and dirt” is found at the end of the 13th century in the Novellino.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The moral sense “pure, without guilt” appears about 1300 in the Laude of Urbino, and Dante speaks of a dignitosa coscienza e netta (“a dignified and clean conscience”).^[2][11] The sense “exact, precise” is found in Antonio Pucci before 1388.^[2] In the 14th century Boccaccio could call merchants netti e dilicati uomini, clean and refined men.^[12]

Peso netto, weight without the packing, was first paired with peso brutto and later with peso lordo; the phrase passed into French poids net, Spanish peso neto and German netto.^[3] German has netto from 1394.^[13] The verb nettare “to clean” is recorded before 1306 and nettezza before 1294;^[2] nettezza urbana, the municipal street-cleaning service, dates from 1912, and netturbino “street sweeper” (1942) comes from Netturbe, the company that ran the service at Palermo.^[2] The phrase mani nette “clean hands” became a political catchword after Benedetto Cairoli used it in 1878 to defend Italy's renunciation of territorial gains.^[14]

Timeline

• 1229 – Medieval Latin nitus is recorded at Venice.^[2]
• 1262 – A Sienese letter uses neto of goods sold net.^[2]
• 1280 – The commercial sense appears again.^[2]
• Late 13th century – The Novellino uses netto “clean”.^[2]
• c. 1300 – The sense “pure, without guilt” appears in the Laude of Urbino.^[2]
• Before 1388 – Antonio Pucci has the sense “exact, precise”.^[2]
• 1394 – German netto is first recorded.^[13]
• 1912 – Nettezza urbana is recorded.^[2]
• 1942 – Netturbino is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (literary or regional) clean, free of stains or dirt.^[11][15][16]
2. clear, limpid: acque nette.^[11][14]
3. (figurative) Free of a burden or harmful influence; unharmed.^[11][15]
4. Free of guilt, pure: un'anima netta.^[11][14][17]
5. Sharply outlined, distinct: Il profilo del campanile era netto contro il cielo.^[11][17][18]
6. (figurative) Firm, decisive: un diniego netto.^[11][15][19]
7. (figurative) Clear-cut, complete: un successo netto.^[11][17][19]
8. (economics) net: of a sum after taxes and expenses are deducted, or of a weight without the packing.^[11][17][15]
9. Of a flavour or a wine, distinct and intense.^[11][15]

Noun

1. The net amount: Il netto è più basso del previsto..^[11][19]
2. A fair copy: mettere in netto, al netto.^[11]

Adverb

1. Clearly, frankly: parlare netto.^[11][14][1]
2. di netto: cleanly, at a single stroke; suddenly.^[15][19][18]

Word family

• nettare
• nettezza
• nettamente
• nettatoio
• nettatura
• nettapenne
• nettapipe
• netturbino

Related words

• nitido
• Latin nitidus
• French net

Usage notes

Al netto (di) means “after deduction (of)”, the opposite of al lordo.^[15][19] The vowel is close /e/ in the standard pronunciation, open /ɛ/ in the north.^[1][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 295
6. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2576
7. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 696
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ 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 c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
12. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 11, 395
13. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
14. ^ 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
15. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
16. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
17. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
18. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
19. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana