solito

Forms

solito (feminine solita, masculine plural soliti, feminine plural solite, adverb solitamente)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin solitus (“accustomed, usual”), the past participle of soleō (“to be accustomed”), whose Italian continuation is solere.^[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary treats it as inherited.^[1] The same participle gave Spanish sólito.^[3]

The origin of the Latin verb is disputed.^[6][1] Walde–Hofmann and Pokorny linked it with suēscō (“to become used to”), but de Vaan rejects this on phonetic grounds and derives it from Proto-Indo-European *sol-eh₁- (“to occupy, inhabit”), so that it first meant “to occupy habitually”.^[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's only early record is in the Costituzioni Egidiane (1357), from Umbria and Romagna, with the sense “being always in a known way”.^[7] DELI dates the adjective to Buonaccorso da Montemagno (before 1429) and thinks that an earlier example quoted by Tommaseo is probably a forgery.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The noun, “what is usual, habit”, is found in Masuccio Salernitano (before 1476).^[2] Machiavelli writes that the Signori took office without “la solita pompa” (the usual pomp).^[5] Di solito “usually” is of Lombard and Venetian origin, where Tuscan said al solito, and the first dictionary to record it was Cappuccini's (1934).^[2]

Essere solito with an infinitive means “to be in the habit of”.^[8][9] Siamo alle solite complains that something unpleasant is happening again.^[9][8] I soliti ignoti, a journalistic phrase for criminals who are never identified, became popular through Mario Monicelli's film of 1958.^[5][10] In a bar il solito is one's usual order.^[4][9]

Timeline

• 1357 – The Costituzioni Egidiane use solito.^[7]
• Before 1429 – Buonaccorso da Montemagno uses the adjective.^[2][4]
• Before 1476 – Masuccio Salernitano uses it as a noun.^[2]
• 15th century – Insolito is recorded.^[3]
• 1934 – Di solito enters an Italian dictionary.^[2]
• 1958 – Monicelli's film I soliti ignoti is released.^[10][5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. usual, customary, the same as always: Ci vediamo stasera al solito ristorante.^{[4][10][11][1]}
2. Of a person, the same as ever, unchanged: Sei sempre il solito pigro!^[4][10][9]
3. Of a situation, often unpleasant, recurring: Di nuovo in ritardo, con la solita scusa del traffico.^[4][10][9]
4. essere solito + infinitive: to be in the habit of: È solita fare una passeggiata dopo cena.^[8][9][12]

Noun

1. (singular only) What is usual, custom: Il treno è partito prima del solito.^[4][11][1]
2. (singular only) One's usual order of food or drink: il solito.^[4][9]

Word family

• solitamente
• insolito

Related words

• solere
• Latin soleō

Usage notes

Di solito and per solito mean “usually”, al solito and come al solito “as usual”.^[4][8][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
8. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
10. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli