Etymologically
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piuttosto

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Pronunciation

  • /pjutˈtɔs.to/[1]

Etymology

It is a univerbation from Italian più + tosto, literally “sooner, more quickly”, the two adverbs written as one word.[2][3][4][1] The second part, “quickly, at once”, continues Latin tostus (“toasted, dried”), the past participle of torreō (“to parch, roast”).[3][1] DELI reports Graziadio Isaia Ascoli's attempt to bridge the gap between “dried” and “quick” through the stages “hard, firm” and “bold, ready”;[2] Nocentini instead starts from “just cooked, ready to eat”, and takes the adverbial use of the word as a copy of French tôt.[3]

The formation matches plutôt, recorded in the 13th century as ⟨plutost⟩.[5][6] Treccani notes that the written word joins the two parts with the doubling of the ⟨t⟩ that the phrase already had in speech.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Brunetto Latini, before 1294, in the senses “more easily, more often, more willingly”.[2][4] Dante uses the phrase to weigh two possibilities in the Convivio: “più tosto è da presummere l'una venire da l'altra che ambe da terzo” (it is rather to be presumed that one comes from the other than both from a third).[6]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the phrase still had its literal meaning “sooner, more quickly”, as in Boccaccio, who says that fire catches “più tosto” in light, soft things than in hard ones.[4][7] That temporal sense is obsolete, and Treccani and Tommaseo advise writing it as two words.[7][8][9] The comparative use with che, setting two sharply opposed alternatives against each other, runs from Brunetto Latini and Dante through Cavalca, Sercambi and San Bernardino.[6]

The sense “somewhat, fairly”, in which the word softens an adjective or adverb, is recorded from Benedetto Varchi, before 1565.[2] In recent decades piuttosto che has also come to be used colloquially for “or” in lists of equal alternatives, a use the dictionaries mark as improper.[10][9]

Timeline

  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses the phrase for “more easily, more willingly”.[2][4]
  • 1304–1307 – Dante's Convivio uses più tosto … che to compare alternatives.[6]
  • 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses più tosto for “more quickly”.[4][7]
  • Before 1565 – Benedetto Varchi uses the word for “somewhat”.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. rather, fairly, somewhat: softens an adjective or adverb: Il viaggio di ritorno è stato piuttosto lungo.[4][10][11][9]
  2. Preferably, more willingly: A cena prenderei piuttosto qualcosa di leggero.[4][9][12]
  3. o piuttosto: or rather, to correct or improve what has just been said: Ti chiamo domani, o piuttosto passo da te.[4][9][7]
  4. instead, with an adversative force: Smettila di lamentarti, piuttosto dammi una mano.[4][9]
  5. More often, more readily: Da queste parti nevica piuttosto a febbraio che a dicembre.[4][9][7]
  6. (obsolete) sooner, more quickly.[9][7][1]

Conjunction

  1. piuttosto che, piuttosto di: rather than, instead of, with a noun, an infinitive or a subjunctive clause: Piuttosto che chiedergli scusa, preferirebbe non vederlo più.[10][11][9][1]
  2. piuttosto che (colloquial): or, joining equal alternatives in a list.[10][9]

Usage notes

Devoto–Oli and Zingarelli label the use of piuttosto che for “or” colloquial and improper; in careful usage the phrase always expresses a preference.[10][9] In replies, piuttosto alone can stand for a cautious “yes”, as in Hai fame? – Piuttosto.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 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. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
  6. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 13, 608
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  8. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli