si

si¹ reflexive pronoun

Etymology tree of si¹

inherited borrowed derived

Latin se

French se

French soi

Italian se

Italian si

Pronunciation

• /si/^[1]

Forms

si^[1] Before lo, la, li, le and ne it becomes se (se lo, se ne).^[2][3][4] In the dialects of Arezzo, Umbria and Rome and in much of the north and south the form is se, reduced to s’ or as in Emilian and Romagnol.^[5]

Etymology

The pronoun is inherited from Latin sē (“himself, herself, itself, themselves”), the Latin reflexive pronoun: “si” is the unstressed clitic form beside the stressed sé.^[6][7][5][8] GRADIT and Treccani add a probable influence of the dative sibi (“to oneself”).^[9][10] The variant “se” arose by assimilation before other clitics with a vowel other than i.^[7]

The same pronoun is French se, Occitan se, Catalan se, Spanish se, Portuguese se, Sardinian se and Romanian se.^[11][1] In Romanian, Dalmatian, Italian, Rhaeto-Romance and southern French dialects it also serves as the reflexive of the first and second persons.^[11]

Latin “sē” goes back to Proto-Indo-European *se (“oneself”); the long vowel comes from the stressed form.^[12] Cognates include Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌺 (sik) and Old Church Slavonic сѧ (sę).^[12][13]

Earliest recorded meaning

The unstressed pronoun is first recorded in the Novellino, at the end of the 13th century, as the third-person reflexive, singular and plural.^[6][7] The stressed sé is older, in the Ritmo bellunese of 1193–1196.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Besides the reflexive and reciprocal uses, si took on an impersonal value (si dice che “they say that”) and a passive one, the si passivante (qui si vendono biglietti “tickets are sold here”).^[7][9][2] In older and bureaucratic Italian it could follow a finite verb, as in Manzoni's placossi “he calmed down” or the notice affittansi camere “rooms to let”.^[4]

In north-western Tuscany, around Grosseto, in Umbria, in Rome and in the north, si is also used for the first person plural (si laviamo “we wash”); the use is documented in Siena from 1260.^[5] DEI suggests a northern origin, a form like Tuscan ci that became se and merged with the reflexive, with Tuscan si va “we go, let's go” as another starting point.^[5] Familiar Tuscan still uses it this way.^[14][1]

Timeline

• 1193–1196 – The stressed sé appears in the Ritmo bellunese.^[6]
• 1260 – Si for the first person plural is documented in Sienese.^[5]
• Late 13th century – The unstressed si appears in the Novellino.^[6]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. Unstressed reflexive pronoun of the third person, singular and plural, as direct object: himself, herself, itself, themselves: Marco si guarda allo specchio.^[9][2][4]
2. As indirect object, to or for oneself: Si è tolta le scarpe.^[9][4][3]
3. With pronominal verbs, without a reflexive sense: pentirsi, arrabbiarsi.^[9][4][2]
4. Reciprocal: each other, one another: I due fratelli si somigliano molto.^[9][1]
5. Intensive, stressing the subject's involvement: Si è bevuto tre caffè.^[9][2][10]
6. Impersonal: one, people, you: In questo ristorante si mangia bene.^[2][14][1]
7. Forming the passive (si passivante): Da qui si vedono le montagne.^[9][3][1]
8. (regional, Tuscany and Rome) Used for ci in the first person plural: noi si va al mare.^[5][1]

si² musical note

Etymology tree of si²

inherited borrowed derived

Latin sanctus

French saint

Italian santo

Italian si

Derived words · si²

Latin sancte ← sanctus

Latin sanctitas ← sanctus

Pronunciation

• /ˈsi/^[1]

Forms

si m (invariable)^[1]

Etymology

The note name is from Medieval Latin Sancte Iohannes “O Saint John” reduced to its initials: these are the words that end the first stanza of the hymn to Saint John the Baptist, “Ut queant laxis”, attributed to Paul the Deacon.^[6][7][3][9] Guido d'Arezzo (about 997 – about 1050) took the names of the notes from the syllables of this hymn.^[3][15] His system had six syllables;^[15] “si” was added later as the seventh.^[15] Nocentini classes it as a borrowing from Latin.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in the music theorist Giovanni Andrea Bontempi in 1695, for the last of the seven notes;^[6][15] Bontempi describes how Si was added to Guido's six syllables.^[6][15] Nocentini, GRADIT, Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti date the word to 1805.^[7][9][2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the Latin countries si is the seventh note of the scale of C;^[15] Germany uses the letter H for it and the English-speaking countries B, from the older notation by letters.^[15] The name was borrowed as French si in the 17th century, English si (1728) and German Si (1732).^[16]

Timeline

• 11th century – Guido d'Arezzo names the notes from the hymn Ut queant laxis.^[3][15]
• 1695 – Bontempi uses si for the seventh note.^[6][16]
• 1728 – English si is first recorded.^[16]
• 1732 – German Si is first recorded.^[16]
• 1805 – The date of first record in GRADIT and Nocentini.^[9][7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (music) The seventh note of the scale of C in the solmization used in Latin countries, the note B: un concerto in si bemolle.^[9][2][3]
2. (music) The string or key of an instrument that gives this note.^[9][3]
3. (music) The key that has this note as its tonic: una sonata in si minore.^[9]