Etymologically
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perfettamente

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Pronunciation

  • /per.fet.taˈmen.te/[1]

Forms

perfettamente[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian perfetto (“perfect”) + -mente.[2][3][1][4] The adjective is a learned borrowing of Latin perfectus (“completed”), the past participle of perficiō (“to carry through, complete”), from per- (“thoroughly”) and faciō (“to do, make”).[5][6] Latin had the adverb perfectē.[7]

Prati traces the use of the adverb as an approving answer, “just so, quite right”, to French parfaitement; he cites Giusti for it.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT and Devoto–Oli date the word to the first half of the 13th century.[2][3] One of the earliest quotations is from the Sicilian poet Mazzeo di Ricco, who wrote that anything si può giudicare / perfettamente bona in sua natura, can be judged perfectly good in its nature.[9]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the adverb meant “completely, so that nothing is lacking”, as in Dante's Paradiso: Acciò che tu assommi / perfettamente ... il tuo cammino, so that you may perfectly complete your journey.[7][9] Old forms include perfectamente and perfetamente.[9]

Through the dictionaries of the 19th century it also meant “excellently” and, from the French model, the approving reply.[7][8] In current use it is often an intensifier, “completely, utterly”, before adjectives such as inutile or convinto.[2][3][4]

Timeline

  • First half of the 13th century – First record.[2][3]
  • 1300–1321 – Dante uses it in the Paradiso.[7]
  • 19th century – Giusti uses it as an approving answer, after French parfaitement.[8]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. perfectly, in a perfect way, very well: Parla perfettamente tre lingue.[2][4][10]
  2. (colloquial) completely, absolutely, quite: È perfettamente inutile insistere.[2][3][10]
  3. As an answer, approving fully: “exactly, just so”.[3][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  5. ^ Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli, p. perfetto
  6. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier, p. perfetto
  7. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b c d Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 761
  9. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  10. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli