se

se¹ if

Etymology tree of se¹

inherited borrowed derived

Latin se

French se

French soi

Italian se

Italian si

From the same root · se¹

Italian andarsene ← si

Pronunciation

• /se/^[1]

Forms

se^[1] Before a vowel it may be elided to s’.^[2] Old Florentine, Sienese and Milanese texts have sed before a vowel.^[3]

Etymology

The conjunction “if” is inherited from Late Latin se(d), a Late Latin form recorded from the 6th century, which DELI, GRADIT, Sabatini–Coletti and the GDLI explain as a blend of Latin sī (“if”) with quid (“what”).^{[4][5][6][7][3]} DEI supports the final consonant with the old forms in ⟨sed⟩ before a vowel, as in Brunetto Latini's ⟨sed io ben mi ramento⟩ “if I remember well”, and with the doubling of the consonant that follows the conjunction.^[3] Nocentini instead takes it as Latin “sī” under the attraction of che,^[8] and Wiktionary leaves both explanations open.^[1]

The conjunction is panromance: French si, Occitan si, Catalan si, Spanish si, Portuguese se and Sardinian si.^[8] DEI sets the Sardinian, Old Venetian, Provençal, Catalan and Spanish forms in ⟨si⟩, which continue “sī” directly, against Romanian să and the Old French form ⟨se⟩.^[3] Meyer-Lübke noted that ⟨se⟩, written in France from the 6th century, may have been formed after the outcome of quia (“that, because”).^[9] In Romanian the word is now a particle meaning “that”.^[10]

Latin “sī” comes from an older ⟨sei⟩, written in early inscriptions, which goes back to Proto-Italic *sei (“so, thus”).^[11][1] It was originally a locative of an old demonstrative Proto-Indo-European *só (“this, that”), used to link clauses with the sense “in this case”, and only later became a subordinating conjunction “in the case that”.^[8][11][1] The same old form, with the particle -ce, gave sīc (“so”).^[8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Ritmo laurenziano, at the end of the 12th century, already with the sense “in the case that”.^[4][8][5] It has the line Se mi dà cavai ballano (“if he gives me prancing horses”).^[7]

Semantic evolution

In the first half of the 13th century the conjunction also meant “since, given that”, in Iacopo d'Aquino, and before 1294 Brunetto Latini uses it for a clause of doubt.^[4] An indirect question with se “whether” follows at the end of the 13th century in the Novellino.^[4] Boccaccio has the dubitative use: Non so se a voi quello se ne parrà che a me ne parrebbe (“I do not know whether it will seem to you as it would to me”).^[12]

Compounds with adverbs became conjunctions of their own: semmai before 1292, sennò in the 13th century, sebbene and sennonché in the 14th century, and seppure in 1838.^[8] As a noun se meant “condition” before 1557 in Girolamo Parabosco, and Tommaseo in 1873 records it for “hesitation, doubt”.^[4] The noun survives in the phrase con i se e con i ma, said of doubts and objections that hold up a decision.^[6]

Timeline

• Late 12th century – The Ritmo laurenziano uses se “if”.^[4]
• First half of the 13th century – Iacopo d'Aquino uses it for “since, given that”.^[4]
• Before 1292 – Semmai is first recorded.^[8]
• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses se in a clause of doubt.^[4]
• Late 13th century – The Novellino uses se “whether” in an indirect question.^[4]
• 14th century – Sebbene and sennonché appear.^[8]
• Before 1557 – Girolamo Parabosco uses the noun se “condition”.^[4]
• 1838 – Seppure is first recorded.^[8]
• 1873 – Tommaseo records the noun for “hesitation, doubt”.^[4]

Meanings

Conjunction

1. if, introducing a real condition, with the indicative: Se domani fa bello, andiamo in montagna.^[5][13]
2. If, introducing a possible or unreal condition, with the subjunctive: Se avessi più tempo, imparerei il russo.^[13][5]
3. In polite phrases that soften a statement: se non sbaglio, se ben ricordo.^[5][14]
4. In exclamations with the main clause left out, expressing wonder, regret or a wish: Se solo me l'avessi detto prima!^[5][14]
5. since, given that, with a causal sense: Se eri stanco, perché non sei rimasto a casa?^[5][4]
6. whether, introducing an indirect question or a doubt: Mi domando se abbia ricevuto la lettera.^[12][1]
7. With anche or pure, even if: Anche se piove, esco lo stesso.^[5][14]

Noun

1. A condition, a reservation: Ci sono troppi se in questo progetto.^[6][4]
2. Doubt, hesitation.^[6][4]

Word family

• semmai
• seppure
• sebbene
• sennò
• sennonché
• senonché

se² oneself

Etymology tree of se²

inherited borrowed derived

Latin se

French se

French soi

Italian se

Italian si

From the same root · se²

Italian andarsene ← si

Pronunciation

• /se/^[1]

Forms

se^[1]

Etymology

The pronoun is inherited from Latin sē (“himself, herself, itself, themselves”), the Latin reflexive pronoun.^{[4][5][6][15][1]} It is the form that the clitic si takes before lo, la, li, le and ne.^[5][6]

The same pronoun is Romanian se, Dalmatian se, Sardinian se, Friulian se, French se, Occitan se, Catalan se, Spanish se and Portuguese se.^[9] In Romanian, Dalmatian, Italian, Rhaeto-Romance and southern French dialects it also serves as the reflexive of the first and second persons.^[9]

Latin “sē”, written ⟨sēd⟩ in Old Latin inscriptions, goes back to Proto-Indo-European *se (“oneself”); the long vowel comes from the stressed form.^[16] Cognates include Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌺 (sik) and Old Church Slavonic сѧ (sę).^[16][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The pronoun is first recorded in the Novellino, at the end of the 13th century, for “to oneself” and as a pleonastic particle.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

Boccaccio uses it before another clitic for the dative of interest: insieme col medico e co' compagni suoi se gli mangiò (“he ate them [the capons] together with the doctor and his companions”).^[15] With ne it formed the pronominal verbs of motion, as in Boccaccio's se n'andarono “they went away”.^[12]

Alone, in place of si, it is literary and mostly enclitic, as in Petrarch's non pò fermarse (“cannot stop”).^[5][6] Tommaseo notes that Venetian uses se for si in every position.^[12]

Timeline

• Late 13th century – The Novellino uses the pronoun se.^[4]
• 1349–1353 – Boccaccio's Decameron has se gli mangiò and se n'andarono.^[15][12]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. Unstressed reflexive pronoun of the third person, singular and plural, used for si before lo, la, li, le and ne: Se l'è dimenticato a casa.^[5][6][2]
2. (literary) Used alone for si, especially attached to the verb.^[5][6]