Etymologically
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perciò

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 20:02. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /perˈt͡ʃɔ/[1]

Forms

perciò (invariable)[1] Old Pisan had persò.[2] The phrase is also written separately as per ciò, now less common.[3][4]

Etymology

It is a univerbation of the phrase ⟨per ciò⟩ “for this”, formed from Italian per + ciò.[5][6][7][1] Grammarians long kept the phrase and the single word apart: Tommaseo advised keeping ⟨per ciò⟩ apart when a following word agrees with the pronoun (⟨per ciò stesso⟩) or when the pronoun is stressed, and joining it otherwise.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is the Novellino, the Florentine collection of tales of the end of the 13th century, with the sense “for this reason”.[5] Zingarelli dates the word to 1268, GRADIT to the second half of the 13th century.[9][7] Dante opens a reply with it in the Inferno: “Perciò, a figurarlo gli occhi affissi” (therefore I fixed my eyes on him to make him out).[8]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word introduced a conclusion drawn from what had been said.[5][7] Old Italian also used it after a negative to mean “not for that reason, nevertheless”: Boccaccio wrote that although the pain had ceased, “non per ciò è la memoria fuggita de' benifici” (the memory of the kindness has not for that reason fled).[3] Zingarelli labels this non perciò “nonetheless” rare, and the use of perciò for “but, however” literary.[9]

Tommaseo, in the 19th century, distinguished it from però: però can also mean “nevertheless”, while perciò always gives a reason, and more emphatically.[8] The interrogative e perciò? “so what?” is a colloquial use the modern dictionaries record.[7][3][10]

Timeline

  • 1268 – Zingarelli's date of first record.[9]
  • Late 13th century – Perciò “for this reason” appears in the Novellino.[5]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. therefore, so, for this reason; introduces a consequence of what has been said: Il negozio era chiuso, perciò sono tornato a casa.[7][11][4][9]
  2. Strengthened by e: and so: Non hai studiato e perciò non sai rispondere.[7][11][3]
  3. In questions, asking what follows from what was said: e perciò?, so what?, and then?[7][9][10]
  4. (literary) But, however, non perciò, nevertheless.[7][9][3]

Word family

  • imperciò

Usage notes

Sabatini–Coletti notes that perciò is usually set off by pauses and may stand before, inside or, in speech, after the clause it belongs to.[4] The form epperciò is occasionally written for e perciò.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2846
  3. ^ a b c d e f Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  4. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  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. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  11. ^ 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