quindi

Forms

quindi (invariable)^[1] An old Pistoiese form is quinde.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *eccum inde (“look, from there”), from Latin eccum (“here he is!”) (compare ecco) and inde (“from there; thereafter”).^[4][5][6][1] Nocentini explains the final ⟨-i⟩ as an adverbial ending taken from qui and lì.^[5] Wiktionary notes that the stressed vowel should have become /e/, and suggests that the /i/ was taken from its pair quinci, from Vulgar Latin *eccum hince, where the following /ntʃ/ raised the vowel regularly.^[1] The simple indi continues the Latin adverb alone.^[7][8] The same compound gave Old Spanish aquende (“on this side”).^[9]

The Latin eccum is a contraction of ecce (“behold”) and probably a form of the demonstrative hic (“this”).^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini and GRADIT date the word to 1264.^[5][6] DELI's first record is in Bono Giamboni's Libro de' vizî e delle virtudi, before 1292, in the sense “from here”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the word was an adverb of place and time: “from there”, “through that place” and “afterwards”.^[4][11] Dante closes the Inferno with it: “E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle” (and thence we came out to see the stars again).^[6][12] Paired with quinci it meant “on that side”, as in Leopardi's “e quinci il mar da lungi, e quindi il monte” (here the sea far off, and there the mountain).^[13][6]

The sense “therefore” is also in Dante, before 1321, and has become the main one, while the uses of place are now literary or obsolete.^[4][11] Parlare in quinci e quindi means to speak affectedly, and squindi (1872) occurs only in the phrase senza tanti squinci e squindi.^[6][14][5]

Timeline

• 1264 – First record.^[5][6]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for “from here”.^[4]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for “therefore” and with quinci.^[4]
• 1353 – Boccaccio uses it for “afterwards” and “through that place”.^[4]
• 1872 – Squindi is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Conjunction

1. therefore, so: pioveva, quindi siamo rimasti a casa.^[6][11][1]
2. On its own, asking for a conclusion or an answer: quindi? che cosa hai deciso?^[13][14]

Adverb

1. then, afterwards: prima ha cenato, quindi è uscito.^[6][13][14]
2. (literary) From there, through there: e quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle (Dante).^[6][15]
3. (literary, obsolete) From then on: quindi innanzi.^[13][11]

Word family

• squindi

Related words

• quinci
• indi
• ecco
• qui
• dunque
• perciò

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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. 3180
3. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 816
4. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
15. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse