Etymologically
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ovviamente

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Pronunciation

  • /ov.vjaˈmen.te/[1]

Forms

ovviamente[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian ovvio + -mente, from the adjective “obvious” with the adverb suffix.[2][1][3][4] Ovvio is a learned word of the 17th century, first recorded in Paolo Segneri in 1672, borrowed from Latin obvius (“lying in the way, meeting; easy, natural”).[5][6][2] The Latin adjective was drawn from the phrase ob viam (“in the way, towards”), from ob- (“in front of, against”) and via (“road, way”), so that it first meant “coming to meet”.[5][6][2] The same Latin word gave ovviare “to obviate, remedy”, recorded in the 14th century.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the adverb to 1741, and Devoto–Oli to the first half of the 18th century.[2][7] Tommaseo–Bellini enter it with the plain gloss “in an obvious way”.[8]

Semantic evolution

The first sense was the literal manner adverb: “in an obvious way”, which GRADIT still records for actions that are predictable or commonplace.[8][2] The modern word is above all a sentence adverb, “of course, naturally, evidently”, often set off as a parenthesis.[2][7][4] Standing alone it serves as an emphatic answer “yes”, “certainly”.[7][1]

Timeline

  • 1672 – Paolo Segneri uses the adjective ovvio.[5]
  • 1741 – Ovviamente is first recorded.[2]
  • 1861–1879 – Tommaseo–Bellini gloss it as “in an obvious way”.[8]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. obviously, of course, naturally (as a comment on the whole sentence): Ovviamente non sapevo niente della festa.[2][7][4][1]
  2. As a reply: certainly, of course: «Ci sarai anche tu?» «Ovviamente!»[7][1]
  3. In a predictable, commonplace way: Ha risposto ovviamente, senza nessuna fantasia.[2][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  5. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET