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se1 if

Pronunciation

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

Pronunciation

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]

Usage notes

In Tuscan pronunciation the conjunction doubles the consonant that follows it.[17][3] A minor homograph, archaic and literary, is se “so, may it be that”, used in wishes and oaths with the subjunctive: DELI derives it from Latin sīc (“so”), influenced by the conjunction “if”, and first records it before 1294 in Guittone d'Arezzo.[4][15] Dante uses it in Purgatorio 2.16: cotal m'apparve, s'io ancor lo veggia, / un lume (“so, may I see it again, a light appeared to me”).[2][13][15] The stressed reflexive pronoun is written sé.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3435
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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 g h i j k l m n De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 18, 382
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  11. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ a b c d e Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  13. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  14. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  15. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 18, 383
  16. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  17. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana