Etymologically
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sconosciuto

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Pronunciation

  • /sko.noʃˈʃu.to/[1]

Forms

sconosciuto (feminine sconosciuta, masculine plural sconosciuti, feminine plural sconosciute)[1] Old forms include Old Italian isconosciuto and Old Italian scognosciuto, and in Naples Old Italian scanussuto, in Treviso Old Italian ysconosuta.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is the past participle of sconoscere (“to fail to recognize”), formed from conoscere (“to know”) with the prefix s-.[5][6][7][1] The verb continues Latin cognōscō (“to get to know”), whose outcomes cover most of the Romance area.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The LEI's first record is Boccaccio's Filocolo (1336–1338), in the sense “not known; never visited or explored”.[2] DELI's first record is Giovanni Villani (before 1348).[5] Petrarch has the line M'andava sconosciuto e pellegrino, “I went about unknown and a pilgrim”.[8]

Semantic evolution

Jacopo Passavanti (1354) used it for a person without fame, the obscure man of whom “the whole world” later spoke.[5][8] DEI records an old sense “not knowing God, pagan” in the 14th-century La Spagna.[9] As a noun, “an unknown person, a stranger”, it is recorded in Lodovico Castelvetro in 1570.[5] From the 17th century it is also said of what has never been felt or tried before, and of something whose cause or nature has not been found.[2][10]

In literary use it can mean “not properly appreciated”, the same as misconosciuto.[10][4] The ironic illustre sconosciuto is a person of no fame at all.[10][11]

Timeline

  • 1336–1338 – Boccaccio uses sconosciuto in the Filocolo.[2]
  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it.[5]
  • 1354 – Jacopo Passavanti uses it for “obscure, without fame”.[5]
  • 1570 – Lodovico Castelvetro uses it as a noun for an unknown person.[5]
  • 1650 – The sense “never felt or tried before” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. unknown; never visited or explored: Navigavano verso isole sconosciute.[10][7][12]
  2. Whose identity has not been established: Il ladro è rimasto sconosciuto.[10][7][4]
  3. Not famous, obscure: un pittore sconosciuto.[10][7][12]
  4. Whose nature or cause is not known: una malattia di origine sconosciuta.[10][7][13]
  5. Never felt or tried before: Provò una gioia sconosciuta.[10][4][11]
  6. (literary) Not properly appreciated, misconosciuto.[10][7][4]

Noun

  1. A stranger, a person whose identity is not known: Non aprire la porta agli sconosciuti.[10][7][1]

Word family

  • sconosciutamente
  • semisconosciuto

Usage notes

Illustre sconosciuto (literally “illustrious unknown”) is said ironically of someone nobody has heard of.[10][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 15, 526
  3. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  4. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3413
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  11. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli