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però

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin per hoc (“through this; for this reason”), a phrase of per (“through”) and hoc (“this”), the neuter of hic.[2][3][4][1] Its first meaning was causal, “therefore”, which Florentine still keeps.[3][1] Nocentini explains the adversative meaning “but” from negative or contrasting clauses of result, where “so don't speak” could be heard as “but don't speak”.[3] Spanish pero went through the same change and also moved the stress back, while Italian keeps it on the last syllable.[3][5] The parallel phrase with prō gave Old French poruec “therefore”.[6][5]

Latin per goes back to Proto-Indo-European *péri (“across, around”), like Ancient Greek περί (perí, “around”) and Sanskrit परि (pári).[7][1] The pronoun hic is built on one of the many demonstrative stems of the parent language, with the particle -ce added.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is peroe in the Ritmo laurenziano (12th–13th century), in the sense “since, because”, while Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the word to the 11th century.[2][3][8] The adversative sense “but, however” is first recorded in Giacomo da Lentini (before 1250).[2][9]

Semantic evolution

Old and literary Italian used però freely for “therefore”: Petrarch writes “tempo non mi parea da far riparo / contra colpi d'Amor: però m'andai / secur, senza sospetto” (it did not seem a time to guard against Love's blows, so I went on safe and unsuspecting).[4] Tommaseo still explained the passage from one meaning to the other and noted that the Tuscans liked to say e però, also written epperò.[10][8][11]

Reinforced ma però “but however” is very old: Dante has “ma però di levarsi era neente” (but still there was no getting up), and Castiglione used it too; formal language now avoids it.[12][8] The compound però che, perocché “because” goes back to the 12th century.[3][4] At the start of a sentence però! expresses surprise or admiration.[4][9] Maltese borrowed the word.[1]

Timeline

  • 11th century – Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the first record.[3][8]
  • 12th–13th century – Peroe “because” appears in the Ritmo laurenziano.[2]
  • 12th century – Perocché is recorded.[3]
  • Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses però for “but”.[2][9]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. but, however, with stronger contrast than ma; it can also follow the words it contrasts: Il film era lungo, però non mi sono annoiato.[4][8][12][11][1]
  2. nevertheless, all the same (after a concessive clause): Anche se è tardi, devi però finire i compiti.[4][9][11]
  3. (colloquial) Reinforced by ma: ma però.[4][8][12]
  4. (literary, archaic) therefore, for this reason, often as e però.[4][8][11]

Interjection

  1. Expresses surprise or approval: Però, che bella casa![4][9][11]

Word family

  • perocché
  • epperò

Usage notes

Doubled, però però introduces a criticism or a reservation.[4][9][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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 g h Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  6. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  11. ^ a b c d e f Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse