Etymologically
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ogni

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈoɲ.ɲi/[1]
  • Regional: /ˈɔɲ.ɲi/, /ˈoɲ.ɲi/[1]

Forms

ogni (invariable)[1] Older forms are Old Italian onne, ogne and ogna.[2][1] Older Italian could use it in the feminine and plural.[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old Italian onne, inherited from Latin omnis (“all, every”).[1][4][5] DELI starts from a form omnim for the usual accusative omnem, if a reading in a passage of the Itala is correct, as the plural ending -is was often used for -es, but calls the question complex.[6] According to Nocentini, the /ɲ/ of the word arose from the cluster /mn/ when the next word began with a vowel, as before uno and ora.[5][7] The close /o/ is due to the word being mostly unstressed, while the older open vowel survives in much of Tuscany and central Italy.[1]

In Italian the word took on the distributive sense “each”, while the collective “all” went to the descendants of Latin tōtus, such as tutto.[5] Meyer-Lübke lists outcomes of the Latin word only in Italy and in Romansh.[8]

The origin of omnis is uncertain.[9][10] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *opni-, an adjective in *-ni- from a verbal root, perhaps Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep- (“to take”) (as in optō) or Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- (“to work”) (as in ops and opus).[9][1] Nocentini and Devoto also link it with ops (“wealth, resources”).[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The distributive use is recorded first, in the Breve of Montieri, a Tuscan statute of 1219.[6][4] Before 1250 the Sicilian poets use it for “all”, Giacomo da Lentini writing c’ogn’omo s’avanta c’ama “for every man boasts that he loves”, and Rinaldo d'Aquino for “any”.[6][11]

Semantic evolution

The meanings have stayed the same since the 13th century.[6][12] Derivatives were formed by setting words side by side: ognissanti “All Saints' Day” (about 1284), ognora “always” (before 1250), ognuno “everyone” (before 1301) and ogniqualvolta “whenever” (before 1698).[6][5] Ognissanti continues Christian Latin Omnes Sancti, but the name gave way in Italy to Tutti i Santi or simply i Santi.[6][5]

Many idioms are built with the word: a ogni costo “at any cost”, in ogni caso “in any case”, ogni tanto “now and then”, a ogni morte di papa “once in a blue moon” and fare di ogni erba un fascio “to lump everything together”.[4][13]

Timeline

  • 1219 – The Breve of Montieri uses the word distributively.[6]
  • Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses it for “all”, Rinaldo d'Aquino for “any”.[6]
  • About 1284 – Ogni Sancti “All Saints” is recorded.[6]
  • Before 1301 – Ognuno is first recorded.[6]
  • Before 1698 – Francesco Redi writes ogni qual volta “whenever”.[6]

Meanings

Determiner

  1. each, every: each single member of a group, taken one by one: Ogni studente riceverà un attestato.[4][14][1]
  2. All, any, of every kind: gente di ogni età.[4][14][15]
  3. With numbers or periods of time, marking intervals: every: L'autobus passa ogni venti minuti.[4][13]

Word family

  • ognuno
  • ognissanti
  • ognora
  • ogniqualvolta

Usage notes

Ogni is invariable and always comes before a singular noun, even when it refers to many; with numbers the noun is plural (ogni tre giorni).[15][13] It may be elided before a word beginning with i (d'ogn’intorno).[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 707
  3. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 302
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 11, 850
  12. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  13. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  14. ^ 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
  15. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse