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o1 or

Pronunciation

Forms

o (conjunction; before a vowel, especially before o-, also od)[2][3] Old Italian also had the forms u (second half of the 13th century, in a translation by Brunetto Latini) and on (early 15th century).[4] Old Lombard had on (before 1274, Pietro da Bascapè) and Old Venetian au and ou (about 1250).[4]

Etymology

The conjunction is inherited from Latin aut (“or”).[5][6][1][4] The Latin word lives on in every Romance language in its popular form: French ou, Occitan o, Catalan o, Spanish o, Portuguese ou, Sardinian o and Romanian au.[6][7][4] The LEI notes that the use of the conjunction to open a question survives only in Italian, Romanian and Sardinian.[4]

Latin ⟨aut⟩ corresponds to Oscan auti (“or”) and goes back to Proto-Italic *auti or *aute.[6][8] De Vaan traces it to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eu (“away”), the source of Ancient Greek αὖ (aû, “again, on the other hand”) and αὖτε (aûte).[8] Nocentini sees the same particle in Gothic 𐌰𐌿𐌺 (auk, “also”) and in German auch.[6] Devoto describes the Latin word as an extension of this particle, attested alone or extended in Indo-Iranian, Greek, Osco-Umbrian and Germanic.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT and Nocentini date the conjunction to before 1249.[5][6] The LEI's first record is in Chiaro Davanzati in the 13th century,[4] and GDLI quotes a letter of Guido Faba, who writes u compagnia (or alliance) with the Old Italian form u.[10]

Semantic evolution

The LEI sorts the Italian uses by function: an exclusive choice, an indifferent choice, an explanation that corrects or clarifies, a threat (“otherwise”), and the opening of a question.[4]

Compounds formed early: ovvero (13th century), oppure (14th century) and ossia (16th century), with ovverosia in 1891.[6] The euphonic form od is recorded from before 1292 in Bono Giamboni and is still used by Alfieri, but is now rare and mostly literary.[4][3][2]

Timeline

  • Before 1249 – Date of the first record of the conjunction.[5][6]
  • Before 1274 – Old Lombard on in Pietro da Bascapè.[4]
  • Before 1292 – The form od before a vowel in Bono Giamboni.[4]
  • 13th century – Ovvero is formed with vero.[6]
  • 14th century – Oppure is formed with pure.[6]
  • 16th century – Ossia is formed with sia.[6]
  • 1891 – Ovverosia is first recorded.[6]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. or, joining words or clauses of the same kind as alternatives, one of which excludes the other: vieni a piedi o in bicicletta?[5][11][2]
  2. Repeated before each term, to stress that these are the only choices: o studi o lavori.[5][3][12]
  3. Joining alternatives that do not exclude each other: ci vediamo martedì o mercoledì.[2][3]
  4. Introducing the second part of a direct or indirect question: non so se restare o partire.[5][11]
  5. After a command or a request: otherwise, or else: sbrigati o perdiamo il treno.[5][12]
  6. Introducing an explanation or another name: that is, also called: l'iperico o erba di San Giovanni.[5][12]

Word family

o2 O! (vocative interjection)

Pronunciation

Forms

o (interjection, invariable; also written oh)[5][13]

Etymology

The interjection is inherited from Latin ō, used in Latin with the vocative and in exclamations.[5][6][10] It is also French ô and Spanish oh.[6] Latin ⟨ō⟩ corresponds to Ancient Greek ὦ (ô) and Gothic 𐍉 (ō).[6][10] Wiktionary calls the Latin word expressive and the vocative use a semantic loan from the Greek word, older Latin using prō or the bare vocative.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT and Nocentini date the interjection to before 1250.[5][6] Among GDLI's first quotations is Giacomo da Lentini: “O stella rilucente, / che levi la maitina” (O shining star that rises in the morning).[10]

Semantic evolution

The vocative o gives a raised, solemn tone to an address, as in Dante's “O voi che siete in piccioletta barca” (O you who are in a little boat, Paradiso 2) and Petrarch's “O aspettata in ciel beata e bella / anima”.[13] GDLI notes that it is now almost only literary,[10] while in familiar speech it is still used to call out to someone: o voi laggiù.[5]

In Boccaccio the same sound also expresses wonder or curiosity, a use Tommaseo files under the spelling oh.[13]

Timeline

  • Before 1250 – The interjection is first recorded, in Giacomo da Lentini.[5][6][10]
  • 1300–1321 – Dante uses it in addresses: “O voi che siete in piccioletta barca”.[13]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. Before a name or noun in addresses, invocations and exclamations, often with a solemn tone: o Dio, aiutami!, o povero me![5][11][10]
  2. (familiar) Used to call someone loudly: o ragazzi, venite qua![5]

Usage notes

A separate Tuscan o (GRADIT dates it to 1348–1353 and derives it perhaps from ora) strengthens an exclamation, a rhetorical question or a reply: o che ti credevi?[5][10]

O is also the name of the letter, feminine or masculine and invariable, first recorded before 1250;[14][5] DELI derives the name from the Greek and Latin names of the letter.[14][5] Proverbial phrases are non saper fare una O con un bicchiere (to be completely incompetent) and tondo come l'O di Giotto (perfectly round).[5][13][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  3. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 2568
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 300
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 11, 706
  11. ^ 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
  12. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  13. ^ a b c d e Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  14. ^ a b Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli